PRINCETON,  N.  J. 


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Number , 


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THE     NEW    TESTAMENT 


ITS     WRITERS 


THE  NEW  TESTAMENT 


ITS  WRITERS 


BEING  AN  INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  BOOKS  OF  THE 
NEW  TESTAMENT 


Rev.  J.  A/M'CLYMONT,  B.D., 

JOINT-TRANSLATOR   OF 
DR   J.    T.    beck's    "  PASTORAL   THEOLOGY   OF   THE   NEW   TESTAMENT. 


NEW    YORK 
ANSON    D.    F.    RANDOLPH    &    COMPANY 

(iNCORrORATF.n) 

LONDON  :    ADAM  &  CHARLES  BLACK 
1893 


PREFACE. 

The  favourable  reception  accorded  to  TJie  New  Testmnent 
and  Its  Writers  in  its  original  form,  as  one  of  the  series  of 
Guild  and  Bible-Class  Text-books  ^  issued  by  the  Christian 
Life  and  Work  Committee  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  has 
encouraged  the  author  to  present  it  in  a  form  more  suitable 
for  general  readers.  While  serving  other  purposes,  he  be- 
lieves it  may  be  specially  helpful  to  ministers  and  other 
teachers  who  are  using  the  small  edition  in  their  Bible- 
Classes. 

The  author  has  to  acknowledge  the  kindness  of  Mrs. 
Lewis  of  Cambridge  in  favouring  him  with  the  photograph 
of  the  Syriac  Palimpsest  recently  discovered  by  her,  that  is 
here  reproduced  ;  and  he  would  also  record  his  obligations 
to  his  friend  the  Rev.  R.  S.  Kemp,  B.D.,  for  his  valuable 
assistance  in  the  revision  of  the  proof-sheets. 

It  may  be  well  to  add  that  in  the  Scripture  quotations 
it  is  the  Revised  Version  that  is  almost  always  followed. 

September  1893. 

^  Edited  by  the  Very  Reverend  Professor  Charteris,  D.D.,  and  the  writer. 


CONTENTS. 


Map^  showing  nearly  all  the  places  mentioned  in  this  volinnc. 

Facsimile  specimens  of  the  Sinaitic  (k))  Vatican  (B),  and  Alexandrine 
(A)  MSS.\  of  the  Ephraemi  Palimpsest  (C),  a7td  of  the  Old  Latin 
and  Syriac  Versions^  inchcding  the  newly-discovered  Palimpsest  of  the 
Syriac  Gospels. 


CHAPTER 

I,  The  New  Testament   .... 

Note  A  on  the  Canon 

Note  B  on  MSS.  and  Versions 

Note  C  on  Textual  Criticism 
II.  The  Gospels      ..... 

III.  "The  Gospel  according  to  St.  Matthew  " 

IV.  "The  Gospel  according  to  St.  Mark  " 
V.  "The  Gospel  according  to  St.  Luke" 

VI.  "  The  Gospel  according  to  St.  John  " 

VII.  "  The  Acts  of  the  Apostles  " 

VIII.  The  Epistles      ..... 

The  Epistles  of  St.  Paul 

IX.  "  The  First  Epistle  of  Paul  the  Apostle  to  the 
Thessalonians  "      .... 

"The  Second  Epistle  of  Paul  the  Apostle  to 
the  Thessalonians" 

X.  "  The  First  Epistle  of  Paul  the  Apostle  to  th 
Corinthians  "         .  .  .  . 

XI.  "The  Second  Epistle  of  Paul  the  Apostle  to 
the  Corinthians"  ,  .  .  . 

Undesigned  Coincidences  between  the  two  EribTLEs 

Undesigned  Coincidences  between  2  Corinthians 

and  the  Book  of  Acts        .  .  .  • 


Page 
I 

8 
II 
IS 
19 

33 
40 

49 
60 
76 

85 
86 

93 

99 

103 
114 


Vlll 


Contents. 


CHAPTER 

XII.  "  The  Epistle  of  Paul  to  the  Galatians  " 
Note  on  South  Galatian  Theory     . 

XIII.  "The    Epistle  of    Paul   the    Apostle    to    the 

Romans "       . 

XIV.  The  Epistles  of  the  Imprisonment 

"The    Epistle  of  Paul    the    Apostle    to    the 

Philippians  "  .  .  .  . 

XV.  "  The    Epistle   of    Paul    the    Apostle  to  the 

colossians"  .... 

"  The  Epistle  of  Paul  to  Philemon  " 

XVI.  "The    Epistle    of    Paul    the    Apostle    to  the 
Ephesians  "  . 

xvii.  The  Pastoral  Epistles 

"The  First  Epistle  of   Paul  the  Apostle  to 
Timothy"      ..... 

xviii.  "The  Epistle  of  Paul  to  Titus  " 

"  The  Second  Epistle  of  Paul  the  Apostle  to 
Timothy"     ..... 

xix.  "The    Epistle    of    Paul    the    Apostle  to  the 
Hebrews"    ..... 

XX.  The  Catholic  Epistles  .  .     •      . 

"  The  General  Epistle  of  James  "    . 

XXI.  "  The  First  Epistle  General  of  Peter  "    . 

Note  on  Recent  Discussion  of  its  Date 

xxii.  "The  Second  Epistle  General  of  Peter  " 

"  The  General  Epistle  OF  JUDE " 

xxiii.  "  The  First  Epistle  General  of  John  " 

"  The  Second  Epistle  of  John  " 

"  The  Third  Epistle  of  John  " 

XXIV.  "  The  Revelation  of  St.  John  the  Divine  " 

Appendix  ..... 

Note  on  Patristic  Writings  .... 

Note   on    Undesigned  Coincidences   between   the 
several  Gospels    ..... 


Page 
125 

138 
142 

156 

164 
172 

178 
186 

190 
196 

200 

206 

2l8 

218 

229 

240 

244 
251 
257 

262 
265 

268 
279 
279 

287 


Note. — The  districts  inarktd  Asia  and  Phrygia  constituted  the  Roman  prnvi«-ce  of\ 


those  marked  Galaiiay  Lycaonia^  and  Pisidia,  the  Roman  province  oj  Galatia. 


CAN  O  lOcbeAAM01J5enenJ_ 
KAlAYTOC>4>AKI     '""^^^ 

TOcereNeTOAnAT 

KAI6I  n>KNnfocAX 
XHXOYCOTXIHK^ 

AlAH  MCUN  hCeOM^ 
NHMMeNMMiN 
UJ  CGAAAe  I  H  H  I  N 
e^NTHOAUJCUCAl 

H  NyreN  mm  in 

TA  C  r  p  a4>>NC  K  A I A 
N  A  CTA  N  TecATTM 
TH  (JJ  pAYH  ecTr 
YXHGici  epoycA 

Codex  Sinaiticus  ({<).    Luke  xxiv. ,  31-33. 
{After  Tischeiidorf).     See  p.  11. 


Vy  "^^  Y  » o  y  o  Y  k a.o cue r «^^' 
r  r>-  ri'T'*- »  ^m n  tL> h oxi'^n ^^' 
n  r  f > ^T>  H T~H  I  Aw o  Y^^nocT*'^ 
'AcpT  ON  A.r  re  kommoy 
n  pon  ro  <"<»J'^fo  ycoyoo 
K  ^T^  ><  c  »<fi  Y  X  c  t:  I  -r>i  N  6ii~ 
c  o  Y  <i>>  *^ '^  *"*  ^  ^  ^'^ '^Too 

C  Kl  T  "H  e^P  H  M  CU  £/riOI  M  ^*-»^ 

n  o  I  e  I  T'lE  T  V  c  T  p y^  o  ye^.y 
j-6y    ereNenpoiajATisi  He 

Codex  Vaticanus  (B).     Mark  i.,  1-4.      [From  the  original). 
See  p.  IT, 


^f^ 


•T^'TiS^-i  r;\rkrj<\iA  Ts^)n/vayiV-\ 


Syriac.     Peshito  Version  (Codex  add.  14470),  of  the  5th  or  6th  century.     Bl-iiiikii-  ul  .\I.i:k. 
{From  lilt  original).     See  p.  14. 


►-^^  w^^pej^  ^"^1 


--^Ttri:^ 


jiMiW*^kaiMaaaAHi*aMM» 


Palimpsest  MS.  of  old  Syriac  Gospels  discovered  in  tlie  Convent  of  St.  Callierine  on 
Moiuit  Sinai  by  Mrs.  S.  S.  Lewis,  in  February,  1892.  Tlie  upper  or  later  writing 
is  a  martyrology  of  women-saints,  and  is  dated  the  year  of  the  (ireeks  1090  (a.d.  778). 
The  under-writing,  which  is  in  two  columns,  contains  the  text  of  the  Four  Gospels, 
in  the  usual  order,  complete  with  the  exception  of  a  few  pages  of  .St.  Jolin.  'I  he 
material  is  fine  vellum.  The  portion  given  above  is  the  begmning  of  St.  Luke's 
Gospel,      [brom  a  pliotograph  of  the  origiiijl).     Seep.  14. 


THE    NEW   TESTAMENT   AND 
ITS   WRITERS. 


CHAPTER    I.. 

THE   NEW   TESTAMENT, 

I.  Its  Name. 

The  New  Testament  forms  the  second  and  concluding 
portion  of  the  Revelation  given  to  the  world  in  the  line  of 
Jewish  history.  It  derives  its  name  from  an  expression 
used  by  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  the  institution  of  the  rite 
which  was  designed  to  commemorate  His  death — "  This 
cup  is  the  new  testament  in  my  blood  " — more  correctly, 
"  This  cup  is  the  new  covenant  in  my  blood "  (R.V.),  in 
contrast  with  the  old  covenant  made  with  Moses.^  The 
use  of  the  word  "  testament "  in  this  sense  was  due  to  the 
Latin  testaiiientum,  which  was  early  adopted  as  an  equiva- 
lent for  the  Greek  word  meaning  "covenant."- 

2.  Its  Langttage. 

A  period  of  about  four  hundred  years  had  elapsed  after 
the  last  of  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures  was  written  before 
the  New  Testament  was  commenced.  In  the  interval  the 
Jewish  people,  spreading  far  and  wide  in  the  pursuit  of 
arts  and  commerce,  had  become  familiar  with  the  Grcck 


1  Luke    xxii.    20  ;     Matt.    xxvi.    28  ;       the  Lord  hath  made  with  you." 
I  Cor.  xi.  25  ;  cf.  Exod.  xxiv.  8  :  "  Be-  -  AiadrjKT), 

hold  the  blood  of  the  covenant,  which 


2  New  Testament  and  Its  Writers.  i. 

tongue,  which  was  the  intellectual  bond  of  the  civilised 
world,  as  the  Roman  empire  was  its  bond  in  a  social  and 
political  sense.  Into  this  language  the  Scriptures  of  the 
Old  Testament  had  been  translated  from  the  Hebrew, 
about  200  B.C.,  at  Alexandria,  the  great  meeting-place  of 
Rabbinical  learning  and  Hellenic  culture.^  From  the 
amalgamation  of  these  and  other  elements  there  resulted 
a  form  of  Greek  known  as  the  "  common  "  or  Hellenistic 
Greek.  It  was  in  this  language  that  the  New  Testament 
was  written — a  language  marvellously  fitted  for  the  pur- 
pose, both  because  of  the  wide  prevalence  of  Greek  among 
the  civilised  nations  of  the  time  (resulting  from  the  con- 
quests of  Alexander  the  Great),  and  on  account  of  its 
unrivalled  clearness,  richness,  and  flexibility.  Hence  the 
New  Testament  has  been  aptly  described  as  having  "  a 
Greek  body,  a  Hebrew  soul,  and  a  Christian  spirit  that 
animates  them  both."  - 

3.  Its  Contents. 

The  New  Testament  Scriptures  consist  of  twenty-seven 
different  books,  varying  in  their  form  and  character — the 
first  in  order  mainly  historical,  the  next  doctrinal,  and  the 
concluding  portion  relating  to  vision  and  prophecy.  This 
is  an  order  somewhat  analogous  to  that  found  in  the  Old 
Testament,  many  of  whose  characteristics  alike  as  regards 
thought  and  expression  are  reflected  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment. The  twenty-seven  books  are  the  work  of  nine 
different  authors  (assuming  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  to 
have  been  written  by  some  other  person  than  St.  Paul), 
each  book  having  its  special  characteristics  corresponding 
to  the  personality  of  its  writer  and  the  circumstances  in 
which  it  was  written,  but  all  forming  part  of  one  divine 
whole   centred   in   the  Lord  Jesus   Christ   and  essentially 

1  The  Septuagint,  so  called  because  very  gradually  and  with  varying  de- 
said  to  have  been  executed  by  seventy  grees  of  skill  between  280  B.C.  and 
Jews  brought  to  Alexandria  from  Jeru-  150  B.C. 

salem    for    this    purpose    by    Ptolemy  2  Yix.    Ph.    Schaff,     Hist.    Ap.    Ch. , 

Philadelphus.       The    work   was    done  p.  573. 


The  Neiv  Testament. 


related  to  an  unseen  world.^  They  were  written  at  various 
times,  but  all  in  the  latter  half  of  the  first  century — except 
perhaps  the  Epistle  of  James,  which  was  probably  written 
before  50  A.D.^ 

4.  Manuscripts. 

The  original  MSS.  have  all  perished.^  If  written  on 
papyrus*  for  ordinary  use  they  would  not  last,  while 
those  of  a  more  durable  substance  would  be  in  frequent 
danger  of  destruction  at  the  hands  of  persecutors."' 
Hence  the  vast  majority  of  extant  MSS.  are  of  a 
comparatively  modern  date — anterior,  however,  to  the 
invention  of  printing  in  1450,  when  the  copying  of 
MSS.  practically  ceased.  A  few  precious  copies  written 
on  vellum  or  parchment  have  come  down  to  us  from  a 
very  early  period,  the  most  important  of  which  are  (i)  the 
Sinaitic  (Codex  n),  and  (2)  the  Vatican  (Codex  B)  both  of 
the  fourth  century ;  (3)  the  Alexandrine  (Codex  A)  of  the 
fifth  century  ;  (4)  Codex  Ephraemi  (C),  also  of  the  fifth  cen- 
tury, and  Codex  Bezae  (D)  of  the  sixth  century.  These  and 
other  ancient  MSS.  to  the  number  of  about  a  hundred  are 


1  "  The  books  of  Scripture  are  a  series, 
not  a  congeries.  This  is  true  of  the 
Bible  as  a  whole,  and  is  the  most  re- 
markable fact  in  literature  as  well  as  in 
religion." — Prof.  Charteris,  The  New 
Testament  Scriptures,  p.  3.  On  the 
Canon  see  Note  A  at  the  end  of  this 
chapter. 

2  Speaking  generally,  this  may  now  be 
said  to  be  the  opinion  of  the  great  ma- 
jority of  critics  who  are  willing  to  be 
guided  by  evidence  as  they  would  in  the 
case  of  any  other  books.  "In  recent 
years,"  says  Prof.  Ramsay  in  his  preface 
to  The  Church  in  the  Roman  Empire, 
"as  I  came  to  understand  Roman 
history  better,  1  have  realised  that,  in 
the  case  of  almost  all  the  books  of  the 
New  Testament,  it  is  as  gi-oss  an  out- 
rage on  criticism  to  hold  them  for  second 
century  forgeries  as  it  would  be  to  class 
the  works  of  Horace  and  Virgil  as  for- 
geries of  the  time  of  Nero." 

^  Even  in  the  second  century  they 
had  ceased  to  be  available  for  reference, 
as  we  learn  from  Irentuus  writing  in  the 


latter  part  of  that  century,  and  from 
Origen  who  li\ed  about  fifty  )^ears  later. 

■^  Papyrus  (with  a  pen  of  reed,  not  a 
metal  pen  or  stylus),  seems  to  be  referred 
to  in  2  John,  ver.  12  (;^aproii,  cf.  koK- 
d/jLov,  3  John,  ver.  13) ;  but  parchment 
in  2  Tim.  iv.  13  (to.  /3tj3Xta,  yuaXtcrra 
ras  /xe/j^^pdvas).  The  ICgyptian  and 
other  ])apyri  to  be  found  in  museums 
owe  their  preservation  to  special  circum- 
stances which  saved  them  from  exposure 
and  from  tear  and  wear. 

•''  For  example,  immense  numbers  of 
MSS.  were  destroyed  by  hnperial  edict 
in  the  Diocletian  persecution  in  the  be- 
ginning of  the  fourth  century  :  and  even 
in  Britain  (as  we  learn  from  Gildas  the 
historian)  great  piles  were  Imrned  during 
the  persecutions  of  the  third  century.  A 
common  way  of  avoiding  punishment 
was  to  hand  over  the  sacred  books  to 
the  authorities,  those  who  did  so  being 
known  among  their  brethren  by  the 
name  of  tradi tores  (traitors). 


New  Testament  and  Its  Writers. 


called  Uncials/  because  written  with  capital  letters  without 
any  separation  between  the  words, — the  others  of  a  more 
modern  character  being  called  Minuscules  or  Cursives, 
because  written  in  a  small  running  hand.-^  Of  the  latter 
there  are  about  2000 — an  immense  array  of  witnesses  com- 
pared with  the  few  MSS.  of  classical  works  preserved  to  us, 
which  can  frequently  be  counted  on  the  ten  fingers/^  Owing 
to  the  greater  liability  to  error  in  copying  with  the  hand 
than  in  the  use  of  the  printing  press,  about  200,000  Various 
Readings  have  been  discovered  in  the  extant  MSS.  of  the 
New  Testament.'*      Happily  the  differences   between   the 


1  From  the  Latin  uncia,  an  inch, 
referring  to  the  size  of  the  letters. 

2  For  further  information  regarding 
MSS.  see  Note  B  at  end  of  this  chapter. 

"  The  MSS.  of  Horace  amount  to 
about  250  ;  those  of  Virgil  are  also  very 
numerous,  one  of  them  dating  from  the 
second  centmy.  But  of  Catullus,  the 
earliest  MS.  is  of  the  fourteenth  century  ; 
of  Cornelius  Nepos,  of  the  twelfth  ;  of 
Thucydides,  of  the  eleventh  ;  of  Hero- 
dotus, of  the  tenth  ;  of  Csesar's  Com- 
mentaries, of  the  ninth ;  while  the  six 
Books  of  Tacitus'  Annals  only  exist  in 
one  MS.,  which  was  brought  to  light  in 
the  fifteenth  century.  ' '  The  correspond- 
ence of  Pliny  with  Trajan,"  Professor 
Ramsay  remarks,  "  depends  on  a  single 
manuscript  of  unknown  age,  found  in 
Paris  about  1500,  apparently  taken  to 
Italy  in  the  next  few  years,  used  by 
several  persons  before  1508,  and  never 
since  seen  or  known.  In  spite  of  this 
suspicious  history,  the  correspondence 
is  indubitably  genuine." 

■*  By  200,000  Various  Readings,  it  must 
not  be  supposed  to  be  meant  that  there 
are  200,000  passages  of  Scripture  in 
which  the  text  is  variously  represented. 
The  Readings  are  ascertained  by  com- 
paring every  MS.  in  turn  with  the 
standard  text,  and  every  instance  in 
which  a  difference  is  found,  even  though 
it  should  affect  nothing  but  a  word,  is 
reckoned  as  a  Various  Reading,  the 
number  of  such  instances  in  all  the 
different  MSS.  (including  Versions  and 
quotations  in  the  Fathers)  being  summed 
up  to  ascertain  the  whole.  Moreover, 
many  of  the  readings  are  plainly  erron- 
eous and  do  not  cause  the  slightest 
doubt  or  perplexity,  while  many  others 
affect  the  form  of  expression  only. 
Hence  we  find  Westcott  and  Hort  (Intro- 


duction, p.  i)  giving  it  as  their  opinion 
that '  'the  word^still  subject  to  doubt  only 
make  up  about  one-sixtieth  of  the  whole 
New  Testament  "  ;  and  again  they  state 
that  "  the  amount  of  what  can  in  any 
sense  be  called  substantial  variation  is 
but  a  small  part  of  the  whole  residuary 
variation,  and  can  hardly  form  more 
than  a  thousandth  part  of  the  entire 
text."  As  compared  with  other  ancient 
books,  it  must  be  remembered  that  the 
large  number  of  various  readings  in  the 
New  Testament  is  due,  not  to  the  ex- 
cessive corruption  of  the  text,  but  to 
the  immense  number  of  copies  that  have 
been  preserved  for  us.  The  process  of 
copying  was  in  eveiy  case  sure  to  be 
attended  with  more  or  less  error,  and 
every  time  acopybecameitselfa  model  for 
transcription,  new  errors  were  inevitably 
added  to  the  old.  Every  addition  to 
the  number  of  MSS.  thus  brings  an 
addition  to  the  number  of  readings ; 
but  instead  of  wishing  to  get  rid  of  any 
MS. ,  critics  find  each  one  to  be  a  wit- 
ness in  some  sort  to  the  true  text,  and 
welcome  every  addition  to  their  number. 
The  result  of  a  critical  examination  of 
the  immense  array  of  documentary 
evidence  that  is  now  at  our  disposal  has 
been  to  give  us  a  much  purer  text — 
adopted,  with  substantial  unanimity  by 
the  greatest  authorities  of  our  day 
(Tischendorf,  New  Testament,  8th 
edition,  Tregelles,  and  Westcott  and 
Hort), — than  that  which  was  known  and 
accepted  by  the  scholars  of  the  sixteenth 
century  (Textus  Receptus).  Hence  the 
famous  words  of  Bentley  have  only  been 
verified  by  time:  "Make  your  thirty 
thousand  (various  readings)  as  many 
more,  if  numbers  of  copies  can  ever 
reach  that  sum  :  all  the  better  to  a 
knowing  and    serious  reader,    who   is 


The  New  Testament. 


readings  are  for  the  most  part  so  minute  that  they  do  not 
affect  the  substance  of  revealed  truth.  As  it  is  the  duty 
of  the  Church,  however,  to  ascertain  as  far  as  possible,  the 
exact  words  of  the  sacred  writers,  a  special  department  of 
study  has  been  instituted,  commonly  known  as  Textual 
Criticism,  which  has  for  its  aim  to  adjudicate  on  the  rival 
claims  of  the  various  readings,  with  due  regard  to  the  age 
and  special  characteristics  of  the  several  manuscripts,  as 
well  as  to  the  common  risks  of  misapprehension  and  in- 
advertence to  which  all  copyists  were  liable.^ 

5.    Other   Witnesses. 

In  the  performance  of  the  difficult  and  delicate  task  just 
mentioned  attention  must  be  paid  to  two  other  valuable 
sources  of  information.  (i)  Those  writings  of  Church 
Fathers — ranging  from  the  end  of  the  first  century  to  the 
fourth  or  fifth  century  of  the  Christian  era — which  contain 
quotations  from  the  New  Testament.-  The  value  of  the 
Fathers  as  a  help  in  determining  the  exact  text  of  Scripture 
is  a  good  deal  impaired  by  the  fact  that,  not  having  the 
advantage  of  a  Concordance,  or  of  our  divisions  into 
chapters  and  verses,  they  frequently  quote  from  memory 
and  not  with   strict  accuracy.-'     This   is   of  less   moment, 

thereby  more  richly  furnished  to  select  century  after  he  wrote  ;  Thucydides  for 

what  he  sees  genuine.     But  even  put  two   centuries   after   his   death ;    while 

them  into  the  hands  of  a  knave  or  a  Herodotus  is  only  quoted  twice  for  two 

fool,  and  yet,  with  the  most  sinistrous  hundred    years    after    his    death.       A 

and  absurd  choice,  he  shall   not  extin-  remarkable     instance    is    the     Roman 

guish  the  light  of  any  one  chapter,  nor  History  of  Velleius    Paterculus,   which 

so  disguise  Christianity  but  that  every  (Dr.  Salmon  remarks)  "  has  come  down 

feature  of  it  will  still  be  the  same."  to  us  in  a  single,   very  corrupt  manu- 

1  For  fuller  information  regarding  script,  and  the  book  is  only  once  quoted 
the  Sources  and  Methods  of  Textual  by  Priscian,  a  grammarian  of  the  sixth 
Criticism  see  Note  C  at  the  end  of  century  ;  yet  no  one  entertains  the 
this  chapter.  smallest  doubt  of  its  genuineness." 

2  In  this  respect,  as  well  as  in  the  =' The  first  Concordance  was  produced 
matter  of  MSS.,  the  New  Testament  byAntoniusof  Padua,  followed  by  Car- 
books  occupy  a  much  better  position  dinal  Hugo,  in  the  thirteenth  century, 
than  most  of  the  ancient  classics.  To  the  latter  was  also  due  the  division 
For  example,  the  Annals  of  Tacitus,  of  the  Bible  into  the  existing  chapters ; 
above  referred  to,  are  not  distinctly  but  the  division  into  verses  was  the  work 
mentioned  till  the  fifteenth  century,  of  Robert  Stephens,  the  celebrated 
although  there  is  what  may  possibly  be  editor  and  printer  of  the  New  Testa- 
.in  allusion  to  them  in  a  work  of  the  ment,  who  did  it  in  the  course  of  a 
fifth  century.     Livy  is  not  quoted  for  a  journey   from    Paris   to    Lyons  ("inter 


New  Testament  and  Its  ]\^ritcrs. 


however,  when  the  object  is  not  so  much  to  ascertain 
the  precise  language  of  Scripture  as  to  prove  the  exist- 
ence and  general  reception  of  the  books  of  the  New 
Testament  at  an  early  period  in  the  history  of  the 
Church.^  (2)  Ancient  Versions  or  Translations,  some  of 
which  (for  example,  the  Syriac  and  Old  Latin)  were 
made  within  a  century  after  the  time  of  the  apostles.- 
These,  also,  afford  valuable  evidence  as  to  the  canon icity 
of  particular  books — some  of  them  having  been  current  as 
early  as  the  second  century,  and  being  still  preserved  in 
ancient  MSS.  dating,  in  some  cases,  from  the  fourth,  fifth, 
and  sixth  centuries.  As  regards  readings,  their  testimony 
is  often  uncertain  owing  to  the  want  of  exact  correspond- 
ence between  their  language  and  that  of  the  original ;  but 
where  the  translation  is  of  a  literal  character,  as  it  is,  for 
example,  in  the  case  of  the  Old  Latin  Versions,  the  lang- 
uage of  the  original  in  a  disputed  passage  may  be  inferred 
with  a  near  approach  to  certainty.  Even  the  errors  of  the 
translator  sometimes  indicate  quite  plainly  what  words  he 
had  before  him  in  the  Greek  ;  while,  in  a  question  of  the 
omission  or  insertion  of  a  clause,  an  ordinary  version  speaks 

equitandum,"  as   his   son  informs   us),  in   four  parallel   columns.     In  connec- 

which    may   account  for   the  imperfect  tion  with  this  arrangement  a  plan  was 

manner    in   which    the   task   was   exe-  devised    by   Eusebius    for    enabling    a 

cuted.  reader    to    ascertain    at   once   the  cor- 

Other    modes   of   di\ision,    however,  responding    passages    in     the    several 

existed  from  a  very  early  period.      The  Gospels.      He  distributed  the   sections 

division  into  lines  (crTiXot),   known    as  under    ten    tables    called    Cano7ts,    the 

stichometry,  seems  to  have  been  in  use  first   containing    the    numbers    of    the 

before  the   beginning  of  the  Christian  sections  common  to  all  the  foui-  Gos- 

era   and   was   applied  to    Scripture  by  pels,  the   second   those  found  in  Mat- 

Euthalius,    a    deacon    of    Alexandria,  thew,    Mark,    and    Luke,   and   so    on. 

about  the  middle  of  the  fifth  century.  These  Canons  were  frequently  prefixed 

who    prepared    an   edition  of  the  Acts  to    MSS.;   and   in   the    margin  of    the 

and    Epistles    in    which    e\ery  fiftieth  text,  under  the  number  of  the  section, 

line  was  noted  in  the  margin  and  the  the  number  of  the  canon   in    which   it 

text    was    divided    into     lections     and  was  to  be  found  was  frequently  marked 

chapters.         Corresponding     to     these  in  red  ink. 

KeipdXaia   (chapters)    of    Euthalius   are  ^  For     information      regarding      the 

the  still   earlier  tItXol  of  the  Gospels,  Church    Fathers    whose    citations    are 

being  a  kind   of  summary  of  contents  referred  to   in  subsequent  chapters  see 

placed  at  the  beginning  of  each    Gos-  Appendix,  pp.  279-287.     The  citations 

pel  or  at  the   top  or   bottom    of  each  themselves  may  be  found  in_Charteris 

page.      With  the  name   of  Ammonius  Cajmncify,    or    in   \\  estcott  s   Ntstory 

(third   century)   is  associated   a  system  of  the  i\cu<  Testament  Ca?um. 
of  division   into   sections,    which    was  2  Regarding  the  several  \ersions  see 

originally    employed    as    a    means    of  Note  B  at  end  of  chapter, 
presenting  a  Harmony  of  the  Gospels 


The  Nezv  Testament. 


as  plainly  as  a  MS.  in  the  original.  When  the  testimony 
of  a  version  is  clear  and  unmistakable,  its  confirmation  of  a 
reading  may  be  even  more  valuable,  especially  if  supported 
by  another  version,  than  if  it  were  in  Greek,  owing  to  the 
improbability  of  a  passage  being  corrupted  in  the  same 
way  in  two  or  three  languages. 

Although  the  New  Testament  has  been  translated  into 
almost  all  tongues,  it  is  only  the  earliest  translations, 
represented  by  MSS.  of  sufficient  age,  that  have  testimony 
of  any  value  to  offer,  either  as  regards  the  canonicity  of 
books  or  the  correctness  of  readings.  Such  versions  are 
comparatively  few  in  number,  and  many  of  the  MSS.  in 
which  they  are  preserved  have  not  yet  been  examined  with 
sufficient  care  to  put  us  in  possession  of  a  thoroughly 
reliable  text  and  render  their  evidence  fully  available. 


6.  English    Versions. 

The  first  English  version  was  completed  by  John 
Wycliff  in  1383.  It  was,  however,  only  the  translation 
of  a  translation  (the  Latin  Vulgate  of  St.  Jerome).  The 
first  English  translation  from  the  Greek  was  finished  by 
William  Tyndale  in  1525,  and  put  in  print  the  following 
year  at  Worms.  This  was  followed  by  Miles  Coverdale's 
translation  of  the  whole  Bible  in  1535,  the  Great  Bible, 
usually  called  Cranmers  (for  use  in  Churches),  in  1539, 
the  Geneva  Bible  in  1557,  the  Bishop's  Bible  in  1568,  and 
King  James's  Bible  {t\\Q  Authorised  Version)  in  161 1.  The 
most  recent  and  reliable  results  of  Biblical  criticism  are 
embodied  in  the  Revised  Version  of  1881,  which  has  in 
this  respect,  as  in  regard  to  accuracy  of  translation,  an 
unquestionable  superiority  over  the  Authorised  Version, 
the  latter  having  been  made  at  a  time  when  the  science 
was  still  in  its  infancy,  and  before  any  of  the  three  chief 
MSS.  above  referred  to  were  available  for  reference. 
Possibly  the  next  generation  may  see  further  improvements, 
as  the  result  of  a  closer  examination  of  MSS.,  Versions, 


New  Testament  and  Its  Writers. 


and  other  ancient  writings,  as  well  as  through  an  enhanced 
appreciation  of  the  language  of  the  New  Testament,  in  the 
light  of  the  Greek  translation  of  the  Old  Testament  (the 
Septuagint)  and  other  Hellenistic  literature  ;  but,  after  all, 
any  points  in  which  our  English  Bible  is  capable  of  im- 
provement are  infinitesimal  compared  with  the  general 
trustworthiness  of  its  contents.  Of  its  imperfections  as  a 
translation  it  may  be  said,  with  scarcely  less  truth  than  of 
obscurities  in  the  original,  that  "  like  the  spots  upon  the 
surface  of  the  sun,  they  neither  mar  the  symmetry  nor 
impair  the  glory  of  the  great  Source  of  our  Life  and  Light 
which  is  imaged  in  them."^ 


Note  A  on  the  Canon. 

The  original  meaning  of  the  word  canoft  (Kavwp)  is  a  rod,  especially 
as  a  standard  of  measurement.  As  applied  to  the  Scriptures  it  may 
either  be  taken  in  an  active  or  a  passive  sense,  as  determining  the 
Church's  faith,  or  as  itself  approved  and  sanctioned  by  the  Church  ; 
but  in  actual  use  the  two  meanings  can  hardly  be  separated.  Although 
the  word  occurs  in  the  New  Testament  (2  Cor.  x.  13-16,  Gal.  vi.  16), 
and  in  some  of  the  early  Fathers  (in  such  expressions  as  rule  of  faith, 
of  truth,  of  the  Church),  the  first  writer  that  clearly  and  directly  applies 
the  term  to  the  Scriptures  is  Amphilochius,  Bishop  of  Iconium,  in  the 
latter  part  of  the  fourth  century.  More  than  a  hundred  years  earlier, 
however,  we  find  in  the  writings  of  Origen  the  words  canonical, 
cano7iized,  in  the  sense  of  being  acknowledged  as  authoritative,  whence 
it  would  seem  that  the  passive  sense  of  the  word  was  then  dominant. 
The  formation  of  the  Canon  was  a  very  gradual  process.  As  the  New 
Testament  writings  only  came  into  existence  by  degrees  to  meet  the 
practical  needs  of  the  Church,  so  the  collection  of  these  writings  and 
their  setting  apart  for  sacred  uses  was  only  accomplished  by  degrees, 
with  the  general  consent  of  the  Church,  as  its  leading  representatives 
in  different  parts  of  the  world  came  to  realize  the  insufficiency  and 
uncertainty  of  oral  tradition  and  the  need  for  securing  its  faith  and 
doctrine  against  invasion  and  corruption. 

1  Westcott's  Introduction  to  the  Gospels,  7th  edition,  p.  399. 


I.  The  New  Testament.  9 

It  is  not  easy  to  fix  the  precise  date  at  which  the  Christian  writings 
attained  to  a  position  of  equahty  with  the  Old  Testament  in  the 
estimation  of  the  Church.  In  the  Epistle  of  Barnabas  we  find  a 
quotation  from  St.  Matthew's  Gospel  introduced  with  the  usual  formula 
of  quotation  from  the  Old  Testament — viz.,  "as  it  is  written."  In  the 
Epistle  of  Ignatius  to  the  Philadelphians  (§  5)  there  is  an  allusion  to 
"the  gospel,"  "the  apostles,"  and  "the  prophets,"  which  is  understood 
by  some  to  refer  to  the  several  portions  of  Scripture  bearing  these 
names,  although  the  words  certainly  admit  of  being  taken  in  a  more 
general  sense.  In  the  Apology  of  Aristides  (§§  15,  16)  there  are  two 
direct  allusions  to  Christian  Writings,  described  in  one  case  as  "  the 
sacred  writing  which  among  them  (the  Christians)  is  called  Gospel " 
(literally,  "evangelic,"  eua77eXt^'^s  d7ias  ypa.((>7}s).  In  the  Apology  of  Justin 
Martyr  (i.  67)  it  is  stated  that  "  the  memoirs  of  the  apostles  " — which 
we  may  confidently  identify  with  our  Gospels — were  read  in  church 
every  Sunday  like  the  writings  of  the  prophets.  A  generation  later  we 
find  Theophilus  of  Antioch  (180  a.d.)  putting  the  writings  of  the 
prophets  and  evangelists  on  the  same  level,  as  inspired  by  the  one 
Spirit  of  God,  and  quoting  from  Paul's  epistles  as  "the  divine  word" 
(6  deios  X070S).  Towards  the  end  of  the  second  century  we  find  a  canon 
recognised  by  Irena^us  of  Lyons,  Clement  of  Alexandria,  and  Tertullian 
of  Carthage,  consisting  of  two  definite  portions — viz.,  "the  gospel" 
[rh  eOayyeXiov),  and  "  the  apostle  "  (6  d.7ro'crToXos),  the  latter  including  the 
Apocalypse.  The  canon  was  substantially  the  same  in  each  case,  and 
embraced  almost  all  our  New  Testament  books,  the  only  ones  questioned 
by  any  of  these  writers  being  Hebrews,  James,  Jude,  i  and  2  Peter,  2 
and  3  John  ;  but  it  also  included  several  other  books  as  more  or  less 
authoritative — viz.,  the  Shepherd  of  Hennas,  the  Epistle  of  Clement, 
the  Epistle  of  Barnabas,  and  the  Apocalypse  of  Peter.  In  the  Scillitan 
Martyrs,  however  (about  180  A.D.),  Paul's  Epistles  are  distinguished 
from  the  Books^ — a  circumstance  which  would  seem  to  indicate  that 
they  had  not  yet  attained  to  the  same  position  as  the  Gospels,  in  some 
parts  of  the  Church. 

The  earliest  list  of  the  New  Testament  books  that  has  come  down 
to  us  is  preserved  in  the  Muratorian  Fragment  (about  170  A.D.).  The 
only  books  of  our  New  Testament  that  are  not  recognised  in  it,  directly 
or  indirectly,  are  i  and  2  Peter,  James,  Hebrews,  and  one  of  John's 
Epistles,  only  two  of  his  being  mentioned.  The  Old  Latin  Version 
contains  all  but  2  Peter,  Hebrews,  and  James  ;  the  .Syriac  all  but 
2  Peter,  2  and  3  John,  Jude,  and  Revelation. 

An  important  witness  towards  the  middle  of  the  third  century  is 
Origen,  who  seems  to  have  divided  the  books  into  three  classes  :  (i) 
authentic,  (2)  not  authentic,  and  (3)  intermediate,  in  which  last  class 
he  placed  James,  Jude,  2  Peter,  2  and  3  John, — all  the  rest  of  our  New 
Testament  being  put  among  the  authentic  books.    A  somewhat  similar 


I  o  The  New  Testament  and  Its  Writers.  i. 

division  was  followed  by  Eusebiiis,  in  the  early  part  of  the  fourth 
century,  who  was  commissioned  by  the  Emperor  Constantine  to  make 
a  collection  of  the  sacred  books  for  the  use  of  the  Catholic  Church. 
In  the  first  class,  those  commonly  accepted  {hix.o\o~^ovyi.tva)^  Eusebius 
places  all  our  New  Testament  books  except  James,  Jude,  2  Peter,  2 
and  3  John,  which  he  assigns  to  the  second  class,  the  disputed  books 
(dj'rtXfYo/xej'a),  recognised,  however,  by  most.  In  the  third  class,  the 
spurious  books  {v6da),  he  enumerates  the  Acts  of  Paul,  the  Shepherd 
(of  Hermas),  the  Revelation  of  Peter,  the  Epistle  of  Barnabas,  the 
Teaching  of  the  Apostles,  and  also  remarks  that  the  Apocalypse  of 
John  must  be  included  in  the  same  class  by  those  who  reject  it,  as 
well  as  (in  the  opinion  of  some)  the  Gospel  according  to  the  Hebrews. 
As  altogether  beyond  the  pale  of  recognition,  Eusebius  mentions 
certain  heretical  books,  put  forward  in  the  name  of  Apostles  (such  as 
the  Gospels  of  Peter  and  Thomas  and  Matthias,  and  the  Acts  of 
Andrew  and  John),  whose  language  and  tone  of  thought  convicted 
them  of  being  forgeries,  and  which  had  received  no  recognition  from 
the  successive  Church  Fathers. 

Before  the  close  of  the  fourth  century,  the  extent  of  the  Canon  was 
formally  settled  by  the  collective  wisdom  of  the  Church  expressed 
through  her  Councils,  first  at  Laodicea  in  364  (if  the  genuineness  of 
the  Decree  on  the  subject  be  admitted),  and  at  the  third  Council 
of  Carthage  in  397,  when  the  very  same  books  as  are  contained  in  our 
New  Testament  were  declared  to  be  canonical  and  the  only  ones  that 
should  be  read  in  church. 

The  history  of  the  formation  of  the  New  Testament  Canon  has  been 
conveniently  summarized  by  Bishop  Westcott,  who  divides  it  into  three 
periods.  "  Of  these  the  first  extends  to  the  time  of  Hegesippus  (a.d. 
70-170);  the  second  to  the  persecution  of  Diocletian  (a.d.  170-303); 
and  the  last  to  the  third  Council  of  Carthage  (a.d.  303-397).  .  .  .  The 
first  includes  the  area  of  the  separate  circulation  and  gradual  collec- 
tion of  the  Sacred  Writings  ;  the  second  completes  the  history  of  their 
separation  from  the  mass  of  ecclesiastical  literature  ;  the  third  com- 
prises the  formal  ratification  of  the  current  belief  by  the  authority  of 
councils  "  {The  Canon  of  tJic  Nczu  Testament,  p.  15). 

In  connection  with  the  history  of  the  New  Testament  Canon,  there 
are  two  points  that  may  occasion  difficulty  : — (i)  that  a  number  of  the 
books  contained  in  our  New  Testament  lay  under  suspicion  for  a  time 
in  some  parts  of  the  Church  ;  (2)  that  a  number  of  books  which  are 
not  in  it  were  widely  regarded,  for  a  time,  as  more  or  less  authorita- 
tive, and  publicly  read  in  church.  The  explanation  in  both  cases  is  to 
be  found  in  the  general  principle  on  which  the  Canon  was  determined 
by  the  Church,  namely,  that  it  should  contain  only  the  writings  of 
apostles  and  of  those  who  had  written  under  the  influence  or  direction 
of  apostles.     In  the  case  of  the  three  books  outside  of  our  New  Testa- 


I.  The  Nezv  Testament.  1 1 

ment  that  were  most  revered — viz.,  the  Epistle  of  Clement,  the  Epistle 
of  Barnabas,  and  the  Shepherd  of  Hernias,  the  author  was  identified 
with  the  person  of  the  same  name,  mentioned  in  the  New  Testament 
in  connection  with  the  Apostle  Paul  (Phil.  iv.  3  ;  Acts  xii.  25,  &c.  ; 
Rom.  xvi.  14);  while  on  the  other  hand  it  was  because  their  genuineness 
was  considered  doubtful  that  the  right  of  certain  of  our  books  to  a 
place  in  the  Canon  was  called  in  question.  Ultimately,  however,  a 
decisive  judgment  was  arrived  at  by  the  Church,  and  the  same  Council 
of  Carthage  which  sanctioned  the  admission  of  disputed  books 
excluded  certain  other  books  that  had  been  regarded  as  more  or  less 
authoritative — the  result  being  that  the  Canon  was  fixed  precisely  as 
it  now  stands  in  our  English  Version. 

Note  B  on  MSS.  and  Versions. 
I.  Manuscripts. 

1.  The  SinaiticMS.  (x)  was  discovered  by  Tischendorf  in  1844,  when 
he  was  on  a  visit  to  the  Convent  of  St.  Catherine  at  the  foot  of  Mount 
Sinai.  The  monks  had  no  idea  of  its  value  till  they  saw  the  importance 
attached  by  Tischendorf  to  some  forty  leaves  of  it  which  he  picked 
out  of  a  waste-paper  basket.  It  was  not  till  he  made  a  third  visit  in 
1859  under  the  patronage  of  the  Czar,  the  temporal  head  of  the  Greek 
Church,  that  he  succeeded  in  obtaining  the  whole  existing  MS.,  which 
now  lies  at  St.  Petersburg.  It  is  written  on  the  finest  vellum  on  pages 
of  more  than  a  foot  square,  each  sheet  of  two  leaves  representing  the 
entire  skin  of  an  animal.  The  page  is  arranged  in  four  columns, 
giving  it  the  appearance  of  the  old  papyrus  rolls.  It  is  supposed  to 
have  been  the  work  of  four  different  scribes,  two  of  whom  were 
employed  on  the  New  Testament,  but  it  bears  traces  of  revision  by 
perhaps  no  less  than  twelve  correctors  before  the  thirteenth  century,  and 
the  characters  seem  to  have  been  retraced  in  the  eighth  century. 
Besides  the  New  Testament  it  contains  part  of  the  Septuagint  and 
other  writings. 

2.  The  Vatican  MS.  (B),  so  called  because  it  has  lain  for  centuries  in 
the  Papal  residence  of  that  name  at  Rome,  is  also  written  on  beautiful 
thin  vellum.  Its  page  and  also  the  characters  in  which  it  is  written 
are  rather  smaller  than  those  of  the  Sinaitic^  to  which  it  bears  a 
general  resemblance.  There  are  three  columns  in  each  page.  Like 
the  Sinaitic  it  has  been  retraced  by  some  scribe,  probably  of  the  tenth 
century,  whose  workmanship  has  a  good  deal  impaired  the  beauty  of 
the  characters.     It  contains  the  Old  Testament  and  most  of  the  New. 

3.  The  Alexandrine  MS.  (A)  was  presented  to  Charles  I.  by  the  Patri- 
arch of  Constantinople  in  1628,  and  now  lies  in  the  British  Museum.  It 
has  two  columns  to  the  page  of  fifty  lines  each.  It  is  usually  assigned  to 
the  filth  century.    Both  Old  and  New  Testaments  are  nearly  complete. 


1 2  The  New  Testament  and  Its  Writers.  I. 

4.  Of  about  the  same  date  is  Codex  Ephraemi  (C),  deposited  in  the 
National  Library  of  Paris.  The  original  writing  was  effaced  in  the 
twelfth  century  to  make  room  for  the  writings  of  Ephraem  Syrus. 
Hence  the  document  is  called  z. palimpsest.     It  is  very  fragmentary. 

5.  Codex  Bezae  (D)  is  a  MS.  of  the  sixth  century,  containing  the 
Gospels  and  Acts  in  Greek  and  Latin,  the  Greek  occupying  the  left- 
hand  page  and  the  Latin  the  right,  there  being  only  one  column  to  the 
page.  It  has  evidently  been  corrected  and  largely  interpolated  at 
various  times  by  many  different  hands,  and  bears  traces  especially  of 
Syrian  influence.     It  lies  in  the  Cambridge  University  Library. 

Few  of  the  MSS.  are  dated,  but  in  general  it  is  not  difficult  to  deter- 
mine the  age  of  a  MS.  from  its  handwriting,  material,  &c.  "It  may 
be  laid  down  as  a  general  rule  that  the  more  upright,  square,  and 
simple  the  uncial  characters  are,  the  earlier  is  the  writing.  Narrow, 
oblong,  and  leaning  characters  came  in  later,  together  with  greater 
elaborateness  in  style.  Absence  of  initial  letters  of  larger  size  than 
the  rest,  is  a  mark  of  antiquity.  In  the  earlier  MSS.,  marks  of  breath- 
ing, accent,  and  punctuation  are  very  rare,  frequently  absent  altogether, 
or,  if  present,  inserted  on  no  apparent  fixed  principle,  except  that  a  dot 
to  mark  the  division  of  sentences  became  pretty  general  about  the 
beginning  of  the  fifth  century"  (Hammond's  Textual  Criticism,  p.  31). 

The  Uncials  range  from  the  fourth  to  the  tenth  century,  the  Cur- 
sives from  the  ninth  to  the  sixteenth  or  seventeenth  century.  One 
MS.  (A.  Tischendorfianus  III.  Oxoniensis)  of  the  ninth  century  is 
written  partly  in  uncials,  partly  in  minuscules.  The  Uncials  are  now 
usually  designated  by  the  capital  letters  of  the  Latin,  Greek,  or  Hebrew 
alphabet,  the  Cursives  by  Arabic  numerals.  These  symbols,  however, 
do  not  denote  the  whole  New  Testament  in  each  case,  but  individual 
parts  of  which  it  is  composed,  forming  originally,  it  may  be,  separate 
codices,  and  copied  by  different  scribes — viz.,  (i)  the  Gospels  ;  (2)  the 
Acts  and  Catholic  Epistles  ;  (3)  the  Pauline  Epistles  ;  and  (4)  the 
Apocalypse — usually  arranged  in  this  order.  The  same  symbol  is 
generally,  but  not  always,  assigned  to  the  several  parts  of  a  MS.  so 
far  as  they  exist.  This  is  the  case  with  the  Sinaitic  (n),  which  is  the 
only  complete  MS.  of  the  New  Testament,  the  Ale.xandrine  (A),  which 
is  nearly  complete,  and  the  Codex  Ephraemi  (C),  from  v/hich  none  of 
the  four  sections  is  altogether  wanting.  Where  one  or  more  of  the 
portions  is  wanting,  the  symbol  is  applied,  in  the  case  of  a  missing 
part,  to  some  other  MS.;  e.g.  B,  which  is  the  name  of  the  great  Vatican 
MS.,  represents  in  the  Apocalypse  (which  is  absent  from  the  Vatican), 
quite  a  different  and  far  inferior  MS.  (Cod.  Basilianus).  When  the 
same  letter  is  thus  applied  to  more  than  one  MS.,  its  repeated  use  is 
indicated  by  a  small  numeral  appended  to  it,  as  E^,  Eo,  E^.  Many 
of  the  later  Uncials  are  Lectionaries  (denoted  by  numerals  not  capitals) 
composed  of  passages  selected  for  reading  in  church,  and  consisting  of 


I.  The  N'ezv  Testament.  1 3 

(i)  Evangelistaria  (from  the  Gospel),  and  (2)  Praxapostoli  or  Apostoli 
(from  Acts  and  Epistles).  The  oldest  Lectionary  in  Greek  is  of  the 
eighth  century,  in  Syriac  of  the  sixth  century,  but  traces  of  their  exist- 
ence at  an  earlier  period  may  be  found  in  the  writings  of  Chrysostom 
(fourth  century)  and  other  Church  Fathers. 

Many  of  the  MSS.  enumerated  by  critics  are  mere  fragments,  con- 
sisting in  some  cases  of  a  few  words  or  verses.  The  Gospels  greatly 
predominate. 

II.  Versions. 

The  following  are  the  most  important  : — 

(i)  Vetus  Latina  or  Old  Latin.  Evidence  of  its  existence  in  the 
second  century  is  afforded  by  the  statements  of  Tertullian  (200  A.D.), 
and  of  its  character  by  the  numerous  quotations  in  the  writings  of 
Cyprian  (250  A.D.).  In  its  earliest  form  it  seems  to  have  originated  in 
Africa,  where  these  Church  Fathers  lived,  and  hence  the  oldest  and 
rudest  type  of  Latin  text  is  called  "African."  In  the  third  or  fourth 
century  a  somewhat  different  text  (possibly  a  revision  of  the  other) 
seems  to  have  come  into  use  in  Western  Europe,  especially  in  North 
Italy, — which  critics  now  designate  "  European  "  ;  and  this  in  turn  was 
succeeded  by  a  new  revision  (made  with  the  aid  of  the  Greek  text),  to 
which  the  name  of"  Italian"  is  applied,  as  being  identical  with  the  im- 
proved version  to  which  Augustine  alludes  under  the  name  of  Itala. 
So  much  error  and  confusion  had  by  this  time  crept  into  the  Latin 
text  both  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments,  owing  to  the  "  interpretum 
numerositas,"  that  at  the  request  of  Damasus,  Bishop  of  Rome, 
Jerome,  the  greatest  scholar  of  his  day,  undertook  (383  a.d.)  a  new 
revision  of  the  Latin  Bible  with  the  aid  of  the  Greek  and  Hebrew 
originals.  Bitterly  opposed  at  first,  this  Version  (which,  so  far  as  the 
New  Testament  is  concerned,  introduced  few  important  changes  ex- 
cept in  the  Gospels),  became  in  course  of  time  the  accepted  standard 
of  the  Church,  and  was  recognised  as  such  by  the  Council  of  Trent 
(1545  A.D.),  which  described  it  as  "  the  ancient  and  commonly  received 
edition"  (vetus  et  vulgata  editio — whence  the  name  Vulgate).  Efforts 
were  subsequently  made  to  purge  the  text  from  the  corruptions  that 
had  crept  into  it  since  the  days  of  Jerome  ;  and  an  authorized  edition 
was  issued  by  Clement  VIII.  in  1592,  which  still  retains  its  position  of 
supremacy  in  the  Church  of  Rome. 

(2)  Syriac  or  Aramaean.  This  translation  is  almost  in  the  language 
spoken  by  the  inhabitants  of  Palestine  in  our  Lord's  day.  It  can  be 
traced  to  the  first  half  of  the  second  century  ;  but  it  may  have  existed 
even  earlier.  Its  oldest  form  is  represented  by  a  MS.  of  the  fifth 
century,  containing  fragments  of  the  Gospels,  which  was  brought  from 
an  Egyptian  Monastery  by  Dr.  Cureton  in  1842,  and  now  lies  in  the 
British  Museum  ;    but,  like   the  Old  Latin,  this  Version  underwent 


1 4  The  Neiu  Testament  and  Its  Writers.  I. 

important  revision  about  the  end  of  the  third  century,  resulting  in  the 
translation  known  as  the  Peshito  {Simple),  which  was  widely  used  in 
the  most  flourishing  period  of  the  Syrian  Church  (as  the  Vulgate  was 
in  the  Churches  of  the  West),  and  still  holds  a  place  of  honour  in  the 
East.  Its  oldest  MS.  is  Cod.  Additionalis  in  the  British  Museum.  It 
contains  all  the  books  of  the  New  Testament  except  2  Peter,  2  and  3 
John,  Jude,  and  Revelation.  Another  Syriac  Version  called  the 
Philoxenian,  of  a  very  literal  character,  was  made  by  one  Polycarp, 
under  the  auspices  of  Philoxenus,  Bishop  of  Hierapolis,  about  508  A.D. 
A  century  later  it  was  revised,  and  enriched  with  valuable  marginal 
notes  from  Greek  MSS.  by  Thomas  of  Harkel — this  edition  being 
hence  called  Harklensian,  or  Harklean.  Many  copies  of  it  are  still 
extant.  The  Jerusalem  Syriac  (peculiar  in  its  dialect),  of  which  only 
a  few  meagre  fragments  remain,  was  probably  made  in  the  fifth  or 
sixth  century.  In  general  the  value  of  the  Syriac  testimony  is  greatly 
impaired  by  the  paucity  of  ancient  MSS.  as  well  as  of  Patristic  quota- 
tions. Quite  recently  a  Palimpsest  of  the  Gospels  has  been  discovered, 
of  which  a  facsimile  specimen  is  prefixed  to  this  volume.  It  is  sup- 
posed to  represent  the  oldest  form  of  the  Syriac  text,  but  the  examina- 
tion of  it  is  not  yet  completed. 

(3)  Egyptian.  There  are  three  versions  to  which  this  name  may  be 
applied — (i)  Memphitic,  the  version  of  Lower  Egypt,  of  which  Mem- 
phis was  the  capital  (sometimes  erroneously  called  Coptic,  which  is  a 
designation  common  to  all)  ;  (2)  Thebaic  or  Sahidic,  of  Upper  Egypt, 
Thebes  being  the  capital  ;  and  (3)  Bashmuric,  a  rude  adaptation  of  the 
Thebaic  for  the  huntsmen  in  the  Delta  of  the  Nile.  The  two  former 
date  as  early  as  the  second  century,  although  perhaps  not  completed 
till  the  third  ;  and  contain  all  the  books  of  the  New  Testament — the 
Apocalypse,  however,  being  kept  apart  in  an  appendix.  The  MSS.  of 
the  Thebaic  are  ancient,  but  few  and  fragmentary  ;  those  of  the  Mem- 
phitic are  numerous,  but  mostly  as  late  as  the  twelfth  century.  The 
text  varies  ;  but  in  the  best  MSS.  it  is  wonderfully  pure,  being  of  the 
early  Alexandrian  type,  and  of  great  value  for  critical  purposes. 

(4)  Gothic.  This  version,  which  is  said  to  have  been  at  one 
time  the  vernacular  translation  of  a  large  portion  of  Europe,  was  made 
from  the  Greek  by  Ulfilas,  bishop  of  the  Goths,  about  the  middle  of 
the  fourth  century,  "  written  in  an  alphabet  he  constructed  for  the 
purpose  out  of  Greek,  Latin,  and  Runic  characters."  It  is  preserved 
in  the  beautiful  Cod.  Argenteus  of  Upsala,  and  other  MSS.  of  the 
sixth  century,  and  contains  the  Gospels  and  Pauline  Epistles  (without 
Hebrews)  ;  but  it  shows  more  departures  from  the  true  text  than  the 
Egyptian  version. 

(5)  .^thiopic.  This  version,  which  is  considered  to  be  on  the  whole 
an  excellent  rendering  of  the  original,  was  probably  made  from  the 
Greek  in   the  fourth  or  fifth  century,  for  the  use  of  the  Abyssinian 


The  New  Testament. 


15 


Church.  It  contains  the  whole  New  Testament  ;  but  its  surviving 
MSS.  are  very  late  (fifteenth  century),  and  exhibit  considerable 
diversity. 

(6)  Armenian.  The  text  of  this  version,  which  was  made  from  the 
Greek  about  the  middle  of  the  fifth  century,  shows  considerable  traces 
of  readings  derived  both  from  the  Peshito  and  the  Vulgate — the  result, 
it  is  supposed,  of  revision  in  the  sixth  century,  when  the  Armenian 
and  Syrian  Churches  were  brought  into  closer  relations,  and  in  the 
thirteenth  century,  when  the  Armenians  came  under  the  influence  of 
the  Church  of  Rome.  It  contains  the  whole  New  Testament  ;  but  few 
of  its  MSS.  are  earlier  than  the  thirteenth  century. 


Note  C  on  Textual  Criticism. 

Textual  Criticism  is  essentially  of  the  nature  of  a  judicial  process. 
It  is  the  work  of  the  critic  to  collect  and  weigh  all  the  evidence  that 
can  be  obtained  by  the  collation  of  MSS.,  Versions,  and  Patristic 
quotations,  with  the  view  of  determining  as  far  as  possible  the  precise 
words  of  the  original  writer. 

This  evidence  is  of  two  kinds  : — 

I.  External,  being  the  testimony,  on  the  passage  in  question,  of  the 
various  extant  documents. 

I I.  Internal,  relating  to  the  probability  attaching  to  various  readings, 
having  regard  on  the  one  hand  to  the  mind  of  the  author,  and  on  the 
other  to  the  work  of  the  copyist  or  scribe. 

I.  External  Evidence. — Owing  to  the  great  diversity  in  the  age  and 
derivation  of  the  various  documents  in  which  the  text  of  the  New 
Testament  is  contained,  it  becomes  necessary  to  form  some  estimate 
of  the  general  character  of  each  before  dealing  with  its  evidence  in  a 
particular  case.  As  in  a  court  of  justice  the  evidence  of  a  number  of 
witnesses  who  had  obtained  their  information  at  second  hand  from  a 
common  source  would  be  reckoned  of  little  or  no  value  if  the  original 
witness  could  be  produced,  and,  in  any  case,  would  have  far  less 
weight  than  if  it  had  been  derived  from  several  independent  sources  ; 
so,  in  Textual  Criticism,  it  is  essential  for  a  right  adjudication  on  the 
various  readings  to  ascertain  as  far  as  possible  the  historical  relations 
of  the  different  MSS.,  and  the  sources  from  which  they  were  derived. 
Not  only  may  their  age  generally  be  inferred  with  confidence  from 
their  handwriting,  &c.,  but  it  is  also  possible,  by  comparing  their  re- 
spective testimony  in  certain  test-passages  in  which  they  have  to  range 
themselves  on  one  side  or  another,  to  discover  traits  of  family  likeness 
among  them  which  enable  us  to  arrange  them  into  groups.  The  first 
to  employ  this  method  of  classification  was  Bengel  (1752),  who  divided 


1 6  The  New  Testament  and  Its  Waiters.  i. 

the  more  ancient  MSS.  into  two  groups,  the  African  and  the  Asiatic. 
He  was  followed  by  Griesbach  (1812),  who  made  out  three  groups,  the 
Alexandrian,  the  Western,  and  the  Byzantine.  More  recently  the  same 
principle  has  been  worked  out  by  (among  others)  Lachmann,  who 
divided  MSS.  into  the  African  and  the  Byzantine  ;  and  by  Tischen- 
dorf,  who  sub-divided  them  into  Alexandrian  and  Latin,  Asiatic 
and  Byzantine. 

This  arrangement  has  been  somewhat  modified  by  Westcott 
and  Hort,  who  distinguish  the  various  groups  as  Neutral,  Western, 
Alexandrian,  and  Syrian.  The  last  named  group  (so  called  because 
its  text  can  be  distinctly  traced  in  the  New  Testament  quotations  in 
Chrysostom  and  other  Church  Fathers  trained  at  Antioch  of  Syria) 
corresponds  to  Griesbach's  Byzantine,  and  represents  the  latest  and 
most  corrupt  form  of  text.  According  to  Westcott  and  Hort  it  was  the 
result  of  successive  Syrian  recensions  in  the  third  and  fourth  centuries  ; 
but  perhaps  it  may  have  been  due  rather  to  the  great  demand  in  Con- 
stantinople for  fresh  copies  of  the  Scriptures,  in  a  smooth  and  poUshed 
style,  which  was  occasioned  by  the  adoption  of  Christianity  as  the 
rehgion  of  the  Empire  in  the  early  part  of  the  fourth  century.  This 
Syrian  or  Byzantine  text  finds  no  support  in  the  most  ancient  MSS., 
nor  in  any  Version  or  Church  Father  before  the  middle  of  the 
third  century  ;  and  it  is  characterized  by  what  are  called  conflate 
readings,  due  to  the  amalgamation  of  readings  derived  from  the 
other  and  older  texts.  Of  the  three  remaining  groups  the  Western 
is  of  least  value  for  critical  purposes  (although  supported  by  the  Old 
Latin  Version,  and  many  Uncial  MSS.,  as  well  as  Patristic  writings  of 
the  second  century),  because  it  bears  evidence  of  great  liberties  having 
been  taken  with  the  original  text,  in  the  way  of  paraphrasing  and 
interpolating,  under  the  influence  of  oral  tradition,  before  the  canonical 
character  of  our  New  Testament  books  had  been  fully  realized.  Of  the 
two  others  the  Neutral  is  superior  to  the  Alexandrian,  the  latter  being 
marred  by  numerous  trifling  alterations  in  the  supposed  interests  of 
grammar  on  which  much  attention  was  bestowed  at  Alexandria. 

A  great  drawback  in  the  working  out  of  this  system  of  genealogical 
grouping  is  found  in  the  fact  that  in  most  MSS.  there  is  a  considerable 
mixture  of  texts,  many  MSS.  having  been  corrected  and  re-corrected 
with  the  help  of  other  exemplars  than  those  from  which  they  were 
originally  copied.  Hence  of  the  Neutral  there  is  only  one  pure 
representative  extant — viz.,  Codex  Vaticanus  (B)  in  the  Gospels, 
Acts,  and  Catholic  Epistles,  its  Pauline  Epistles  exhibiting  a  Western 
text.  Of  the  Western  the  purest  representatives  are  Cod.  Bezae  in 
the  Gospel  and  Acts  (D),  Cod.  Claromontanus  (Do,  Paul's  Epistles), 
and  Cod.  Boernerianus  (G.j,  Paul's  Epistles),  with  the  addition  perhaps 
of  the  African  Latin  Version. 

To  compensate  for  the  disadvantage  arising  from  the  prevailing 


I.  The  Nezv  Testament.  1 7 

mixture  of  texts,  another  means  has  been  resorted  to  for  ascertaining 
the  collective  value  of  evidence  in  any  particular  case.  The  several 
witnesses  in  favour  of  the  reading  in  question  are  regarded  as  a  separ- 
ate group,  and  the  general  value  of  their  united  testimony  appraised 
by  a  series  of  experiments  in  disputed  passages  where  the  true  reading 
has  been  already  ascertained.  As  the  result  of  this  mode  of  examina- 
tion it  has  been  found  that  any  combination  of  documents  in  which  B 
is  found  may  generally  be  relied  on,  while  j<  and  B  together  form  a 
combination  of  the  highest  value.  The  collective  value  of  a  number 
of  MSS.  thus  combined  is  called  the  Internal  Evidence  of  Groups, 
just  as  the  general  character  of  an  individual  MS.,  when  similarly 
ascertained  by  continuous  experiments,  is  reckoned  among  Internal 
Evidence  of  Documents. 

II.  With  regard  to  Internal  Evidence,  properly  so  called,  it  is  of  two 
kinds — (i)  Intnfisic,\\?LV\ng  reference  to  the  probability  or  improba- 
bility attaching  to  a  reading,  in  view  of  what  is  otherwise  known  of  the 
mind  of  the  author,  more  especially  in  the  light  of  the  context  ;  and  (2) 
Trajiscriptional,  being  the  evidence  afforded  by  the  known  habits  or 
tendencies  of  the  copyist.  A  careful  examination  of  MSS.  has  brought 
to  light  certain  forms  of  error  into  which  copyists  were  more  or  less 
liable  to  fall  ;  and  these  liabilities  have  to  be  kept  in  view  in  judging 
of  a  various  reading.  In  the  case  of  Uncial  MSS.  the  risk  of  error 
was  particularly  great,  as  the  whole  page  presented  the  appearance  of 
one  solid  block  without  any  separation  even  between  different  words. 
Transcriptional  errors  may  be  roughly  distinguished  as  Intentional  or 
Unintentional.     Of  the  latter  the  most  common  are  : — 

{a)  Mistaking  of  one  word  or  syllable  for  another  closely  resembling 
it  in  sound  (called  Ihidstn). 

{b)  Repetition,  by  mistake,  of  a  letter  or  syllable  or  word. 

{c)  Making  one  word  into  two,  or  two  into  one. 

{d)  Omission  of  a  clause — frequently  of  a  line — owing  to  its  having 
a  similar  ending  to  the  one  before  it  {Honwiotcleiiton) . 

(e)  Failure  of  memory  in  the  act  of  transcribing  a  number  of  words 
just  seen  or  heard. 

(/)  Unconscious  assimilation  of  words  to  those  of  a  parallel 
passage,  or  of  one  word  to  its  neighbour — in  its  termination  or  other- 
wise. 

Among  Intentional  changes  may  be  reckoned  : — 

(a)  Insertion  of  marginal  glosses  in  the  text. 

(b)  Introduction  of  liturgical  phrases. 

(c)  Alteration  of  the  text  for  the  purpose  of  improving  its  language 
or  doctrine. 

For  general  guidance  the  following  Canons  of  Criticism  are  found 
useful,  when  applied  with  discretion  : — 

(i)  The  shorter  reading  is  to  be  preferred  to  the  more  verbose 

B 


1 8  The  New  Testament  and  Its  Writers.  i. 

{Brevior  lectio  praferenda  verbosiori,  Griesbach).     This  is  owing  to 
the  tendency  of  copyists  to  insert  and  expand. 

(2)  A  difficult  reading  is  to  be  preferred  to  an  easy  one  {ProcHvi 
lectioni  prastat  ardua,  Bengel) — owing  to  the  tendency  of  copyists 
to  simplify  and  smooth. 

(3)  A  reading  characteristic  of  the  author  or  of  the  New  Testament, 
is  generally  to  be  preferred  to  one  of  a  more  common  or  classical 
nature,  owing  to  the  tendency  of  copyists  to  remove  solecisms  or 
other  peculiarities. 

(4)  In  a  parallel  passage  the  more  independent  reading  is  to  be 
preferred,  owing  to  the  tendency  of  copyists  to  assimilate  in  such 
cases. 

(5)  The  true  reading  is  that  which  will  account  for  the  origin  of  the 
other  readings.     This  is  a  fundamental  principle. 

(In  this  connection  the  reader  may  be  referred  to  Scrivener's 
Introdnctioti  to  the  Criticism  of  the  New  Testament  as  well  as  to  the 
kindred  works  already  mentioned.) 


CHAPTER   II. 

THE   GOSPELS. 

I.    Their  Najiie  and  Nature. 

At  the  head  of  the  New  Testament  stand  the  four  Gospels. 
This  position  has  been  fitly  assigned  to  them,  because, 
although  by  no  means  the  earliest  written  of  the  New 
Testament  Books,  they  contain  a  record  of  the  life  and 
ministry  of  Jesus  Christ  which  forms  the  corner-stone  of 
the  whole  fabric — Christianity  being  essentially  a  historical 
religion,  basing  its  doctrines  not  on  fancy  but  on  fact.  The 
name  gospel,  which  is  the  Saxon  equivalent  for  a  word 
in  the  original  meaning  "good  tidings,"  was  originally 
applied  to  Christ's  preaching  and  that  of  the  apostles.^  In 
course  of  time  it  came  to  be  applied  also  to  the  books  con- 
taining a  record  of  the  great  facts  and  truths  which  formed 
the  substance  of  that  preaching.  One  of  the  earliest 
writers  to  use  the  word  in  this  sense  is  Justin  Martyr,  who 
wrote  about  the  middle  of  the  second  century.-  He 
frequently  refers  to  Memoirs'^  composed  by  the  apostles 
and  their  companions,  which,  as  he  tells  us,  were  called 
*'  Gospels  "  ;  and  he  informs  us  that  they  were  read  along 
with  the  writings  of  the  prophets  at  the  meetings  for 
Christian  worship  on  the  Lord's  Day. 

1  Matt.    iv.    23:    "And    Jesus    went  2  Basilides     (125    A.D.),    quoted    by 

about  in  all  Galilee,  teaching  in  their  Hippolytus,  cites  John  i.  9  as  "said  in 

synagogues,  and  preaching  the  gospel  the  Gospels,"   but  some  think,   without 

of  the  kingdom."     Mark  i.   15:   "The  much  reason,  that  the  words  are  to  be 

time   is   fulfilled,   and    the  kingdom  of  referred    to    one    of    Basilides'    school 

God  is  at  hand  :  repent  ye,  and  believe  merely.      Another    instance    has    been 

in  the  gospel."     i  Cor.  ix.  16:   "For  if  found     in    the    Apology    of  Aristides, 

1  preach  the  gospel,  I  have  nothing  to  dating  probably  from  the  early  part  of 

glory  of;  for  necessity  is  laid  upon  me  ;  the  second  century  (see  p.  9),  and  in  the 

for  woe  is  unto  me,  if  I  preach  not  the  Didache,  which  is  perhaps  even  earlier, 

gospel."  •^'ATrojj.i'r]fioi'€v/j.aTa. 


20  JVew  Testament  and  Its  Writers.  ii. 

2.    Their  Authenticity. 

That  the  Memoirs  to  which  Justin  refers  are  the  same  as 
the  Gospels  which  we  now  possess  may  be  inferred  from 
the  circumstance  that  ahnost  all  the  facts  concerning 
Christ's  life  which  he  mentions  in  about  two  hundred 
scattered  passages  of  his  writings  are  found  in  one  or  other 
of  the  four  Gospels,  while  in  all  the  express  quotations — 
seven  in  number — which  he  makes  from  the  Memoirs  the 
words  quoted  are  also  to  be  found  in  our  Gospels.  This 
conclusion  is  strengthened  by  the  fact  that  about  twenty 
years  later  (170  A.D.)  a  disciple  of  Justin  named  Tatian,  a 
well-informed  and  far-travelled  man,  drew  up  in  the  Syriac 
language  a  sort  of  harmony  of  the  four  Gospels  (called 
Diatessaroii),  which  had  a  very  large  circulation  in  the 
East.  An  Arabic  translation  of  this  work  and  a  Syriac 
commentary  on  it  have  recently  been  discovered,  from 
which  it  is  evident  that  the  four  Gospels  on  which  Tatian's 
work  was  founded  were  identical  with  ours.  In  the 
Muratorian  Fragment,  also,  there  is  a  list  of  New 
Testament  books,  which  most  critics  assign  to  about  170 
A.D.,  where  the  Gospels  of  Luke  and  John  are  mentioned 
as  third  and  fourth,  the  other  two  being  apparently 
mentioned  in  a  part  of  the  MS.  now  lost.  If  further 
corroboration  be  needed,  we  have  it  in  the  universally- 
admitted  fact  that  fifteen  years  later  (185  A.D.)  the  four 
Gospels  which  we  possess  were  circulated  in  all  parts  of 
Christendom — in  Europe,  Asia,  and  Africa — in  thousands 
of  copies  for  the  use  of  the  innumerable  Christians  who 
lieard  them  read  at  their  weekly  meetings  for  worship. 

For  these  reasons  it  seems  to  admit  of  no  doubt  that 
Justin  Martyr's  Gospels  were  the  same  as  ours ;  and  it  is 
easy  to  trace  them  back  through  a  series  of  still  earlier 
writers  to  the  testimony  of  the  apostles.  We  know 
that  Marcion  the    Gnostic^    (140   A.D.)   built   his   system 

1  The  Gnostics  (who  derived  their  the  mysteries  of  religion  than  was  pos- 
name  from  a  Greek  word  meaning  sessed  by  the  ordinary  believer.  But 
knmvledge)  claimed  a  deeper  insight  into        they  always   professed  to   be   indebted 


II.  The  Gospels.  21 

largely  on  the  Gospel  of  Luke,  of  which  he  published  a 
mutilated  edition  known  as  Marcion's  Luke.  In  contrast 
with  Marcion,  Tertullian  places  Valentinus,  another  Gnostic 
(140-160  A.D.),  as  one  who  used  the  canon  in  its  entirety.^ 
A  prominent  witness  is  Papias  (Bishop  of  Hierapolis),  who 
wrote  an  Exposition  of  t lie  Oracles  of  Our  Lord  about  135 
A.D.,  when  he  was  an  old  man.  Among  other  things  which 
he  had  gathered  from  personal  intercourse  with  friends  of 
the  apostles  and  with  two  disciples  of  the  Lord  (one  of 
whom  was  named  John),-  he  tells  us  the  circumstances 
under  which  Matthew  wrote  his  Oracles  and  Mark  his 
Oracles  of  the  Lord.  Still  earlier,  we  find  many  quotations 
more  or  less  exact  from  our  Gospels  in  the  lately-discovered 
"  Teaching  of  the  Twelve  Apostles  "  (dating  from  the  end 
of  the  first  or  the  early  part  of  the  second  century),  in  the 
language  of  Basilides  (125  A.D.),  who  wrote  twenty-four 
books  on  "  the  Gospel,"  and  in  the  short  extant  writings  of 
Polycarp  (a  disciple  of  the  Apostle  John,  martyred  155 
A.D.),  of  Hermas  and  "Barnabas"  (early  in  the  second 
century),  and  of  Clement  of  Rome  (close  of  first  century).^ 
They  are  also  found  in  all  MSS.  of  the  Syriac  and  Old 
Latin  Versions — both  of  which  are  known  to  have  existed 
in  the  second  century.  To  this  we  may  add  that  in  the 
undisputed  epistles  of  Paul,  written  within  a  generation 
after  our  Lord's  death,  there  are  numerous  allusions  to 
Christ's  history,  teaching,  and  example,  which  harmonise 
with  the  facts  recorded  in  the  four  Gospels  (see  p.  88).'^ 
In    these   circumstances  we  may  challenge  those  who 


for  this  knowledge  to  their  fuller  com-  its  close  are  mainly  defences  of  Christ- 
prehension  of  the  meaning  of  Scripture.  ianity  (Apologies)  addressed  to  un- 
Hence  the  frequency  of  their  appeals  to  believers,  with  fewer  quotations  from  the 
the  New  Testament  writings.  For  the  New  Testament  tlian  if  they  had  been 
earliest  distinct  traces  in  the  Christian  intended  for  members  of  the  Church. 
Church  of  the  tendencies  which  after-  But  the  substance,  and  even  the  Ian- 
wards  developed  into  Gnosticism,  see  guage,  of  our  (iospels  arc  woven  into  the 
pp.  94-5,  146,  148.  earliest    Christian    writings    that    have 

1  intcgro  iiistnimcnto.  come  down  to  us. 

2  .See  on  Papias,  Appendix,  p.  281.  ••  The     genuineness     of    the    fourth 
"  The  extant  Christian  writings  of  the  Gospel  is  specially  dealt  with  in  chap. 

first  century  (other  than  the  New  Testa-  vi.,    where  additional   evidence  will  be 

ment)  are  extremely  meagre,  while  the  found,     specially     applicable     to     that 

writings  of  the  second  century  till  near  Gospel. 


2  2  New  Testament  and  Its  Writers.  ii. 

throw  doubt  on  the  credibility  of  the  Gospels  to  show  at 
what  period  it  was  even  possible  for  forgery  or  falsification 
to  be  perpetrated,  and  perpetrated  so  successfully  as  to  im- 
pose upon  all  branches  of  the  Church,  leaving  its  members 
and  teachers  utterly  unconscious  of  the  deception  that  had 
been  practised  on  them — this,  too,  in  matters  affecting  the 
most  vital  interests  of  the  Church's  faith,  regarding  which 
the  apostles  had  been  testifying  ever  since  the  day  of 
Pentecost  on  which  they  began  to  preach  in  the  name  of 
their  Risen  Master. 

Of  the  estimation  in  which  the  Gospels  were  held  we 
may  judge  from  the  words  of  Irenaeus,  a  disciple  of  Poly- 
carp,  who,  towards  the  close  of  the  second  century,  speaks 
of  the  written  Gospel  as  "  the  foundation  and  pillar  of  our 
faith  "  ;  and  says  regarding  the  Scriptures — which  he  de- 
fines to  be  the  writings  both  of  prophet  and  evangelist — 
"  the  Scriptures,  being  spoken  by  the  Word  and  Spirit  of 
God,  are  perfect." 

3.    Their  Origin. 

For  many  years,  probably  for  more  than  a  generation, 
after  the  death  of  Christ,  there  does  not  appear  to  have  been 
any  authorised  record  of  His  life  and  teaching  in  the 
Church.  The  charge  which  the  apostles  had  received  from 
their  Master  was  to  preach  the  Gospel,  and  the  promise  of 
the  Spirit  had  been  expressly  connected  with  the  bearing 
of  oral  testimony.^  As  they  had  received  nothing  in 
writing  from  their  Master's  hands,  it  was  not  likely  the}^ 
would  see  any  necessity  for  a  Avritten  Word  so  long  as  they 
were  able  to  fulfil  their  commission  to  preach  the  Gospel, 
especially  as  they  were  looking  for  a  speedy  return  of 
their  Lord,  and  had  no  idea  that  so  many  centuries  were 
to  elapse  before  the  great  event  should  take  place.  The 
preaching  of  the  Gospel  was  enough  to  tax  their  energies 
to  the  utmost ;  and    the   task   of  committing  to  writing 

1  Matt.   X.  19  :    "  But   when  they  de-       ye  shall  speak  :  for  it  shall  be  given  you 
liveryou  up,  be  not  anxious  how  or  what       in  that  hour  what  ye  shall  speak." 


II.  The  Gospels.  23 

was  not  more  alien  to  the  customs  of  their  nation  than  it 
would  be  uncongenial  to  their  own  habits  as  uneducated 
Galilaeans.  Hence  we  can  readily  understand  how  it 
was  that  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures,  to  which  the 
apostles  constantly  appealed  for  proof  that  Jesus  was 
the  Messiah,  continued  to  be  for  many  years  the  only 
inspired  writings  acknowledged  by  the  Christian  Church, 
A  New  Testament  in  our  sense  of  the  term  was  some- 
thing which  the  apostles  never  dreamt  of;  and  it  is 
not  to  the  design  of  man,  but  to  the  inscrutable  influence 
of  the  divine  Spirit  and  the  overruling  working  of  divine 
Providence,  that  we  owe  the  composition  of  our  Gospels 
before  the  apostles  and  other  eye-witnesses  of  the  Saviour's 
ministry  had  passed  away.  Drawn  up  without  concert 
and  without  the  formal  sanction  of  the  Church,  they 
contain  in  a  simple  form,  suitable  for  all  ages  and  for  all 
classes,  several  independent  records  of  Christ's  life  and 
teaching,  of  which  it  may  be  said  with  truth  that  they  are 
better  authenticated  and  more  nearly  contemporaneous 
with  the  events  than  almost  any  other  record  we  possess 
in  connection  with  any  period  of  ancient  history.  Their 
dignity  and  truthfulness  are  only  rendered  the  more 
conspicuous  when  they  are  contrasted  with  the  apocryphal 
Gospels  invented  at  a  later  period,  which  were  designed  not 
so  much  to  meet  the  spiritual  wants  of  the  Church  as  to 
gratify  an  idle  curiosity.^ 

It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  two  of  our  Gospels  do  not 
claim  to  have  been  written  by  apostles,  but  only  by 
companions  of  apostles  (Mark  and  Luke)  ;  and  that  of  the 


1  About  fifty  apocryphal  Gospels  are  of    the    second     century),    which    has 

known  to  us  (besides  Acts,  Epistles,  and  been  well   described   as  an  attempt  to 

Apocalypses);    but   of   many   only   the  "embroider   with    legend   the    simpler 

names   or   brief   fragments   have    been  narrative   of    the   earlier    Evangelists." 

preserved.        They    usually    abounded  Among   others   extant   are   the   Uospel 

in  the  strange    and    marvellous,   more  of  Thomas,  the   Arabic  Gospel  of  the 

especially  in  connection  with  the  infancy  Infancy,  and  the  Gospel  of  Nicodenuis, 

and  childhood  of  our  Lord  ;  and  traces  comprising  the  Acts  of  Pilate  and  the 

of  their  influence  may  be  seen  in  Christ-  Descent  of  Christ  into  Hades.     Part  of 

ian  art  and  poetry.      One  of  the  oldest  the  Gospel  of  Peter  (previously  known 

and  best  known  is  the  Protevangelium  of  to  us  in  little  more  than  name)  has  been 

James  (dating  perhaps  from  the  middle  recently  discovered  in  Egypt.     It  bears 


24  New  Testament  and  Its  Writers.  ii. 

other  two  only  one  bears  the  name  of  an  apostle  of 
eminence  (John).  This  is,  so  far,  a  confirmation  of  their 
genuineness  ;  for  if  they  had  been  forgeries  claiming  an 
authority  to  which  they  were  not  entitled,  they  would  have 
been  pretty  sure  to  claim  it  in  the  highest  form.  The 
same  circumstance  shows  that  the  apostles  generally  did 
not  regard  it  as  a  duty  to  record  their  testimony  in  writing. 

In  the  discharge  of  their  commission  as  preachers  of  the 
Gospel,  they  doubtless  followed  the  practice  which  was 
common  in  the  East  of  trusting  to  memory  rather  than  to 
written  documents  ;  and  as  the  Church  extended,  and  they 
were  no  longer  able  to  minister  personally  to  the  wants  of 
their  converts  or  of  those  who  required  to  have  the  Gospel 
preached  to  them,  it  would  become  their  duty  to  train 
evangelists  and  catechists  to  assist  them  in  the  work.  In 
preaching  to  the  heathen,  it  would  only  be  the  leading 
facts  of  Christ's  life  that  would  require  to  be  proclaimed, 
but  in  the  instruction  of  those  who  had  already  accepted 
the  message  of  salvation  it  would  be  necessary  to  go  more 
into  detail,  and  set  Christ  before  them  as  a  guide  and 
pattern  in  their  daily  life.  This  instruction  was  doubtless 
given  in  an  oral  form,  the  scholars  repeating  the  lesson 
again  and  again  after  their  teachers.^ 

The  history  of  Christ's  life  and  teaching  was  thus 
originally  set  forth  not  in  the  form  of  a  chronological 
narrative  but  rather  as  a  series  of  lessons  imparted  by  the 
apostles  and  their  fellow-labourers  as  occasion  required,  or 
"  to  meet  the  needs  of  their  hearers,"  as  one  of  the  early 
Church  Fathers  (Papias)  says,  referring  to  Peter's  style  of 
preaching.  During  the  twelve  years  or  more  that  elapsed 
before   the   dispersion   of  the   apostles   from   Jerusalem,  a 

traces  of  acquaintance  with  our  Gospels,  not  have  been  much  earlier  nor  much 

and  has  also  some  uncanonical  matter  later  than  150  A.  D.     To  support  some 

in  common  with  Tatian  and  Justin.     It  heresy  was  the  purpose  of  many  of  the 

occasionally  betrays  sympathy  with  the  apocryphal  writings. 
Docetic  heresy  {cf.  p.  261),  for  which  (as  ^  This  is  the  meaning  of  KaTijxvGv^ 

Eusebius  tells  us)  it  was  condemned  by  ("  instructed  ")  in  Luke  i.  4  =  taught  by 

Serapion,  bishop  of  Antioch,  in  the  end  word  of  mouth  by  dint  of  repetition.    C/. 

of  the  second  century  ;  at  the  same  time  Acts  ii.  42  :   "They  continued  stedfastly 

it  is  anti-Jewish.     Its  composition  can-  in  the  apostles'  teaching." 


II. 


The  Gospels. 


25 


recognised  course  of  instruction  had  doubtless  gained  cur- 
rency in  the  Church,  corresponding  to  St.  Peter's  definition 
of  the  period  of  the  Hfe  of  Christ  which  was  the  proper 
subject  for  apostoHc  testimony  — "  Beginning  from  the 
baptism  of  John  unto  the  day  that  he  (Jesus)  was  received 
up  from  us."i  With  this  agree  specimens  of  apostolic 
preaching  contained  in  the  Book  of  Acts,'^  as  well  as  the 
allusions  which  the  apostles  make  in  their  epistles  to  the 
Gospel  preached  by  them  and  the  knowledge  of  Christ's 
life  acquired  by  their  converts.^  A  close  examination  of 
such  passages   makes   it  evident  that,  while  Christ  Jesus 


1  Acts  i.  22. 

2  Acts  X.  36-43  (Peter's  Address  at 
Caesarea) :  "The  word  which  he  sent 
unto  the  children  of  Israel,  preaching 
good  tidings  of  peace  by  Jesus  Christ 
(he  is  Lord  of  all) — that  saying  ye  your- 
selves know,  which  was  published 
throughout  all  Judosa,  beginning  from 
Galilee,  after  the  baptism  which  John 
preached  ;  even  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  how 
that  God  anointed  him  with  the  Holy 
Ghost  and  with  power  :  who  went  about 
doing  good,  and  healing  all  that  were 
oppressed  of  the  devil  ;  for  God  was 
with  him.  And  we  are  witnesses  of  all 
things  which  he  did  both  in  the  country 
of  the  Jews,  and  in  Jerusalem  ;  whom 
also  they  slew,  hanging  him  on  a  tree. 
Him  God  raised  up  the  third  day,  and 
gave  him  to  be  made  manifest,  not  to 
all  the  people,  but  vinto  witnesses  that 
were  chosen  before  of  God,  even  to  us, 
who  did  eat  and  drink  with  him  after  he 
rose  from  the  dead.  And  he  charged 
us  to  preach  unto  the  people,  and  to 
testify  that  this  is  he  which  is  ordained 
of  God  to  be  the  Judge  of  quick  and 
dead.  To  him  bear  all  the  prophets 
witness,  that  through  his  name  every 
one  that  believeth  on  him  shall  receive 
remission  of  sins"  ;  xiii.  23-31  (Paul  at 
Antioch) :  "Of  this  man's  seed  hath 
t}od  according  to  promise  brought 
unto  Israel  a  Saviour,  Jesus  ;  when  John 
had  first  preached  before  his  coming  the 
baptism  of  repentance  to  all  the  people 
of  Israel.  And  as  John  was  fulfilling 
his  course,  he  said,  What  suppose  ye 
that  I  am  ?  I  am  not  he.  But  behold, 
there  cometh  one  after  me,  the  shoes  of 
whose  feet  I  am  not  worthy  to  unloose. 
Brethren,  children  of  the  stock  of  Abra- 
ham, and  those  among  vou  that   fear 


God,  to  us  is  the  word  of  this  salvation 
sent  forth.  For  they  that  dwell  in 
Jerusalem,  and  their  rulers,  liecause 
they  knew  him  not,  nor  the  voices  of 
the  prophets  which  are  read  every 
sabbath,  fulfilled  them  by  condemning 
him.  And  though  they  found  no  cause 
of  death  in  him,  \'et  asked  they  of 
Pilate  that  he  should  be  slain.  And 
when  they  had  fulfilled  all  things  that 
were  written  of  him,  they  took  him  down 
from  the  tree,  and  laid  him  in  a  tomb. 
But  God  raised  him  from  the  dead  :  and 
he  was  seen  for  many  days  of  them  that 
came  up  with  him  from  Galilee  to  Jeru- 
salem, who  are  now  his  witnesses  unto 
the  people  "  ;  cf.  iv.  19,  20 :  "  But  Peter 
and  John  answered  and  said  unto  them. 
Whether  it  be  right  in  the  sight  of  God 
to  hearken  unto  you  rather  than  unto 
God,  judge  ye  :  for  zve  cannot  but  speak 
the  things  which  ive  saiv  and  heard." 

'i  I  Cor.  ii.  2 :  "  For  I  determined 
not  to  know  anything  among  you,  save 
Jesus  Christ,  and  him  crucified."  i  Cor. 
XV.  1-4:  "Now  I  make  known  unto 
you,  brethren,  the  gospel  which  I 
preached  unto  you,  which  also  ye 
received,  wherein  also  ye  stand,  by  which 
also  ye  are  saved  ;  I  make  known,  I 
say,  in  what  words  I  preached  it  unto 
you,  if  ye  hold  it  fast,  except  ye  believed 
in  vain.  P'or  I  delivered  unto  you  first 
of  all  that  which  also  I  received,  how 
that  Christ  died  for  our  sins  according 
to  the  .scriptures ;  and  that  he  was 
buried  ;  and  that  he  hath  been  raised 
on  the  third  day  according  to  the  .scrip- 
tures." I  Cor.  xi.  23-27:  "For  I 
received  of  the  Lord  that  which  also  I 
delivered  unto  you,  how  that  the  Lord 
Jesus  in  the  night  in  which  he  was 
betravcd  took  bread  ;  and  when  he  had 


26  Neiv  Testament  and  Its  Writers.  ii. 

was  the  constant  theme  of  the  apostles'  preaching, 
they  dwelt  chiefly  on  the  great  facts  that  formed 
the  consummation  of  His  ministry  —  His  sufferings, 
death,  and  resurrection ;  and  we  may  regard  it  as  an 
evidence  of  the  faithfulness  with  which  our  Gospels 
reflect  the  earliest  preaching  and  teaching  of  the  apostles 
that  they  give  such  prominence  to  the  closing  scenes  of 
our  Lord's  history.  We  have  another  token  of  their 
authenticity  in  the  fact  that  they  narrate  events  not  in 
the  light  shed  upon  them  by  the  subsequent  teaching  of 
the  Spirit,  but  as  they  were  actually  regarded  by  the 
disciples  at  the  time  of  their  occurrence,  long  before  the 
publication  of  the  Gospels. 

It  would  seem  that  before  our  Gospels  were  composed, 
attempts  had  been  made  by  private  persons  to  draw  up 
a  connected  history  of  the  Saviour's  life,  or  at  least  of 
His  ministry.  Such  attempts  are  referred  to  by  St.  Luke 
in  the  preface  to  his  Gospel.^  It  is  evident  that  he  is 
alluding  to  other  documents  than  the  Gospels  we  possess, 
both  because  he  speaks  of  the  writers  as  "  many,"  in  a  tone 
scarcely  consistent  with  the  respect  due  to  apostolic  records, 

given   thanks,    he  brake  it,    and   said,  world,  but  was  manifested  at  the  end 

This  is  my  body,  which  is  for  you  :  this  of  the  times  for  your  sake,  who  througli 

do   in   remembrance   of  me.       In   like  him  are  believers  in  God,  which  raised 

manner  also  the  cup,  after  supper,  say-  him  from  the  dead,  and  gave  him  glory  ; 

ing,  This  cup  is  the  new  covenant  in  my  so  that  your  faith  and  hope  might  be  in 

blood  :  this  do,  as  oft  as  ye  drink  it,  in  God."     i  John  iv.  2,  6  :   "  Hereby  know 

remembrance  of  me.     For  as  often  as,  ye  the  Spirit  of  God  :  every  spirit  which 

ye  eat  this  bread,  and  drink  the  cup,  ye  confesseth  that  Jesus  Christ  is  come  in 

proclaim  the  Lord's  death  till  he  come.  the  flesh  is  of  God  : .  . .  We  are  of  God  : 

Wherefore  whosoever  shall  eat  the  bread  he  that  knoweth   God  heareth  us  ;   he 

or  drink  the  cup  of  the  Lord  unworthily,  who  is  not  of  God  heareth  us  not.     By 

shall   be   guilty   of  the   body   and    the  this  we  know  the  spirit  of  truth,  and 

blood  of  the  Lord."     Gal.  iii.  i  :  "...  the  spirit  of  error,"  &c. 

Jesus  Christ  was  openly  set  forth  cruci-  1  Luke  i.  1-4  :    "  Forasmuch  as  many 

fied?"     Eph.  iv.  20,  21  :   "  But  ye  did  have  taken  in  hand  to  draw  up  a  nari-a- 

not  so  learn  Christ ;    if  so  be  that  ye  tive    concerning    those    matters   which 

heard  him,  and  were  taught  in  him,  even  have  been  fulfilled  among  us,  even  as 

as  truth  is  in  Jesus."     i  Peter  i.  18-21  :  they   delivered    them    unto    us,   which 

"knowing  that  ye  were  redeemed,  not  from   the   beginning  were  e)  jwitnesses 

with  corruptible  things,  with  silver  or  and  ministers  of  the  word,   it  seemed 

gold,    from   your   vain    manner   of  life  good    to   me   also,    having    traced   the 

handed  down  from  )-our  fathers  ;    but  course  of  all  things  accurately  from  the 

with  precious  blood,  as  of  a  lamb  with-  first,  to  write  unto  thee  in  order,  most 

out  blemish  and  without  spot,  even  the  excellent  Theophilus ;  that  thou  mightest 

blood   of  Christ :  who   was   foreknown  know     the     certainty     concerning    the 

indeed    before    the   foundation   of    the  things  wherein  thou  wast  instructed." 


II.  The  Gospels.  27 

and  because  a  comparison  of  the  four  Gospels  leads  to  the 
conclusion  that  he  could  not  have  had  any  of  the  three 
others  before  him  when  he  drew  up  his  narrative.  What- 
ever part  the  previously-existing  documents  referred  to  by 
Luke  may  have  had  in  determining  the  shape  in  which 
the  oral  Gospel  was  finally  to  be  recorded,  all  of  them 
were  ultimately  superseded  by  our  present  Gospels,  in 
whose  preservation  and  triumph  we  may  see  an  illustra- 
tion, in  the  highest  sense,  of  "  the  survival  of  the  fittest." 

4.    T/ieir  Diversity. 

On  a  comparison  of  the  several  Gospels,  a  marked 
difference  is  at  once  apparent  between  the  fourth  and  the 
three  preceding  ones.  The  latter  are  called  synoptical, 
because  they  give  in  one  common  view  the  same  general 
outline  of  the  ministry  of  Christ.  This  outline  is  almost 
entirely  confined  to  His  ministry  in  Galilee,  and  includes 
only  one  visit  to  Jerusalem  ;  whereas  the  fourth  Gospel 
gives  an  account  of  no  less  than  five  visits  to  the  capital, 
and  lays  the  scene  of  the  ministry  chiefly  in  Judaea.  A 
still  more  important  distinction  between  them,  with  regard 
to  the  nature  of  their  contents,  has  been  briefly  expressed 
by  designating  the  synoptical  Gospels  as  the  bodily 
Gospels,  and  St.  John's  as  the  spiritual  Gospel — by  which 
it  is  meant  that  the  former  relate  chiefly  to  outward  events 
connected  with  the  Saviour's  visible  presence,  reported 
for  the  most  part  without  note  or  comment,  while  the 
latter  is  designed  to  represent  the  ideal  and  heavenly  side 
of  His  personality  and  work.  Akin  to  this  distinction  is 
the  fact  that  the  first  three  Gospels  report  Christ's 
addresses  to  the  inultitiide,  consisting  largely  of  parables, 
while  '*'.he  fourth  Gospel  contains  discourses  of  a  more 
sublime  character,  frequently  expressed  in  the  language  of 
allegory  and  addressed  to  the  in}icr  circle  of  His  followers. 

When  we  enter  into  a  closer  examination  of  the  three 
synoptic    Gospels    and    compare    them   with   one   another. 


28  Neiv  Testament  and  Its  Writers.  ii. 

we  find  an  amount  of  similarity  in  detail,  extending  even 
to  minute  expressions  and  the  connection  of  individual 
incidents,  combined  with  a  diversity  of  diction,  arrange- 
ment, and  contents,  which  it  has  hitherto  baffled  the  ingen- 
uity of  critics  to  explain  fully.^  A  general  idea  of  their 
mutual  relations  may  be  gathered  from  the  following 
comparison.  If  the  contents  of  each  Gospel  be  reckoned 
lOO,  the  relative  proportion  of  those  things  in  which  a 
Gospel  agrees  with  one  or  other  of  its  fellows  to  those 
thines  in  which  it  stands  alone  would  be  as  follows  : — 


Peculiarities. 

Coincidences. 

St.  Matthew 

42 

58 

St.  Mark 

7 

93 

St.  Luke 

59 

41 

It  is  found  that  the  coincidences  in  language  are  much 
fewer  than  they  are  in  substance — which  is  only  what 
might  have  been  expected,  if  the  several  accounts  are 
derived  from  independent  witnesses.  Reckoning  the 
material  coincidences  in  St.  Matthew  to  be  58  as  above, 
the  verbal  coincidences  would  only  amount  to  16  or 
17  ;  in  St.  Mark  the  former  would  be  93  as  compared 
with  17  of  the  latter;  in  St.  Luke  41  as  compared  with 
10.  It  further  appears  that  by  far  the  greater  number  of 
these  verbal  coincidences  are  met  with  in  the  report  of  our 
Lord's  discourses  and  other  sayings,  a  circumstance  which 
confirms  us  in  the  belief  that  the  Gospel  was  handed  down 
for  a  number  of  years  in  an  oral  form,  as  the  preachers  and 

1  Numberless  theories  have  been  ad-  (1778),    with   the   idea   of  an   Aramaic 

vanced   since   the   time   of    Augustine,  original    (which     might     be     identical 

who  argued  that   Mark  was  the  pedi-  with     the     Gospel    according     to     the 

sequus    et  abbreviator   (  "follower   and  Hebrews),  has  led  many  critics  to  en- 

abbreviator")  of  Matthew,  down  to  the  tertain    the   idea   of    a    double    Greek 

present   time,  when   critical  opinion  is  source,    designated   as   the    Ur-Marcus 

taking    the  form,    not   so   much   of    a  and  the  Ur-Matthaus  (the  latter  being 

theory  of  direct  mutual  dependence  of  perhaps  the  Logia  mentioned  by  Papias), 

the  synoptics  upon  one  another,  as  of  although  there  is  a  difference  of  opinion 

their  dependence  on  some  pre-existing  as  to  which  of  the  two  had  the  priority, 

document  or  documents,  or  on  a  stereo-  The    Oral-Gospel    theory,    which    was 

typed    oral    Gospel.      The    former    of  advocated    by    Gieseler    early    in    this 

these  two  solutions,   adopted  by  J.  D.  century,    and   has  recently   been   more 

Michaelis     in    the     beginning    of    last  fully  expounded  by  Westcott.  has  also 

century,    and    connected     by    Lessing  a  wide  circle  of  adherents. 


II.  The  Gospels.  29 

teachers  would  feel  bound  to  adhere  strictly  to  the  very 
words  in  cases  of  reported  speech,  whereas  they  would  be 
under  no  such  obligation  in  the  narration  of  events.  As 
regards  the  latter  a  considerable  modification  of  the  oral 
Gospel  would  naturally  take  place  during  the  long  period 
that  elapsed  before  it  was  committed  to  writing.  The 
modification  would  vary  in  different  parts  of  the  Church ; 
and  it  is  in  this  way,  as  well  as  by  taking  into  account  the 
possibilities  of  fresh  lessons  being  added  from  time  to  time 
by  those  who  had  been  "  eyewitnesses  and  ministers  of  the 
word  "^  that  we  can  best  account  for  differences,  both  in 
expression  and  in  substance,  which  would  otherwise  seem 
unaccountable.  If  the  apostles'  teaching  was  originally 
given  in  Aramaic — the  form  of  Hebrew  then  spoken  in 
Palestine — and  had  to  be  translated  into  Greek  by  the 
catechists,  this  would  help  still  further  to  account  for 
the  diversity  we  meet  with  in  the  Gospels.' 


5.    Thei}'-  Harmony. 

It  is  possible  that  further  study  and  investigation  may 
shed  more  light  on  the  historical  and  literary  relations  of 
the  four  Gospels,  but  meantime  it  is  clear  that  the  tnie  way 

1  Luke  i.  2.  both  be  accounted  for  by  the  Aramaic 

2  An  interesting  contribution  to  the  word  IJ^J'  which  means  (i)  to  "  throw, 
settlement  of  this  question  has  recently  cast,"  (2)  to  "burn,  consume."  These 
been  made  by  Prof.  J.  T.  Marshall.  ^nd  similar  instances  do  not  require  the 
On  the  supposition  of  an  original  Ara-  assumption  of  a7i'/7V^t'«  AramaicGospel; 
maic  Gospel  (perhaps  the  Logia  of  St.  but  Prof.  Marshall  finds  that  "the 
Matthew)  he  finds  that  a  great  many  g^e^t  majority  of  the  Greek  variants" 
of  the  verbal  differences  between  the  ,„  the  synoptics  can  only  be  accounted 
synoptics,  in  parallel  passages,  may  beac-  fo,-  t,y  corruptions  that  had  crept  into  an 
counted  for  by  reference  to  the  Aramaic  original  Aramaic  text,  in  one  or  other 
word  from  which  they  have  emanated.  of  the  four  following  ways:— (i)  "the 
For  example  the  word  o^ei\i\ixa.ra.  in  diverse  vocalisation  of  the  same  con- 
Matt,  vi,  12  ("Forgive  us  our  debts")  sonants,  (2)  the  misreading  of  a  letter, 
and  afiaprlas  in  Luke  xi.  4  ("  Forgive  (3)  the  omission  of  a  letter,  (4)  the  trans- 
us  our  sins")  maybe  divergent  inter-  position  of  two  adjacent  consonants." 
pretations  of  the  Aramaic  word  niH  Referring,  by  way  of  analog)',  to  the 
which  means  ( i )  a  ,M/,  (2)  a  sin  or  tres-  Hebrew  texts  of  certam  parts  of  the  Old 
pass  ;  or,  again,  the  word  dnoX^aai  in  Testament,  Professor  Marshall  says  : 
Matt.  X.  Ls  t'  •  But  rather  fear  him  which  ' '  These  kmds  of  divergences  arc  always 
is  able  to  d's/rov  both  soul  and  body  in  Present  and  what  is  more  thc.e  is  a 
1^  ,  , '  /  .  a  >  -  ;„  1  „l.-,.  vli  c  to  eraby  constant  ratio  m  the  frequency 
Gehenna  )  and  e/^^aXe..  m  Luke  x  5  ^J^^^  ^^  respectively  occur.  This 
("hath  power  tofrtJ^  into  Gehenna    )may  j       t-           j 


30  Neiv  Testament  and  Its  Writers,  ii. 

to  discern  tJieir  liai'inotty  is  not  to  attempt  to  piece  them 
together  in  the  vain  hope  of  forming  a  complete  chrono- 
logical history,  but  to  study  each  from  its  own  point  of 
view  and  learn  from  it  what  it  has  to  teach  concerning  the 
many-sided  life  and  character  of  Jesus  Christ.  No  one 
Gospel  could  possibly  do  justice  to  the  infinite  significance 
of  the  great  theme  ;  and  instead  of  causing  perplexity,  the 
existence  of  four  different  Gospels  should  rather  be  matter 
of  thankfulness,  as  setting  Christ  before  us  in  so  many 
different  aspects  of  His  divinely  human  personality,  much 
in  the  same  way  as  various  portions  of  the  Old  Testament 
set  Him  forth  prophetically  under  the  several  aspects  of 
prophet,  priest,  lawgiver,  and  king. 

From  the  nature  of  the  case,  the  Gospels  are  necessarily 
fragmentary ,  as  indicated  by  St.  John  when  he  says,  "  There 
are  also  many  other  things  which  Jesus  did,  the  which,  if 
they  should  be  written  every  one,  I  suppose  that  even  the 
world  itself  would  not  contain  the  books  that  should  be 
written."  ^  The  same  writer  gives  us  a  key  to  the  inter- 
pretation of  his  Gospel  when  he  says,  "  These  are  written, 
that  ye  may  believe  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ,  the  Son  of 
God ;  and  that,  believing,  ye  may  have  life  in  his  name."^ 
In  like  manner  each  of  the  other  Gospels,  while  historical 
in  its  character,  is  animated  by  a  special  purpose  of  its 
own  with  its  appropriate  grouping  and  selection  of  events. 
Owing  to  the  frequent  change  of  scene  and  audience  in 
Christ's  ministry,  the  historical  sequence  could  not  be  strictly 
adhered  to  by  anyone  desirous  to  trace,  from  any  point  of 
view,  the  progress  of  His  teaching.  At  the  same  time  there 
was  a  gradual  development  in  Christ's  ministry,  culminating 
in  His  death,  resurrection,  and  ascension  ;  and  this  gradual 
advance  we  find  reflected  in  each  of  the  four  Gospels. 

same  ratio,  we  may  add,  is  discernible  Aramaic  of  any  one  period  or  literature, 

in   the    kinds    of    variation    we    claim  and   resorts   to   linguistic    suppositions 

to  have   found   in   the   Aramaic."       It  which  are  open  to  question.     Moreover, 

has,    however,    been   objected  to  Prof.  it  is  at  best  but  a  partial  solution  of  the 

Marshall's  theory  that  in  his  attempts  synoptical  problem, 

to  reproduce  the  words  of  the  original  ^  John  xxi.  25. 

text  he  does  not  confine  himself  to  the  2  John  xx.  31. 


11.  The  Gospels.  31 

Unity  amid  diversity  is  what  we  have  to  look  for  in 
the  Gospels,  as  in  the  Scriptures  generally  ;  and  of  this 
we  have  a  token  in  the  time-honoured  fancy  of  the  Church, 
by  which  the  four  Gospels  are  likened  to  the  four-visaged 
cherubim,  having  the  faces  of  a  man,  a  lion,  an  ox,  and  an 
eagle.  This  comparison  has  been  variously  applied,  but 
the  interpretation  followed  in  modern  works  of  art,  after 
St.  Jerome,  identifies  the  four  faces  with  the  Gospels  of 
Matthew,  Mark,  Luke,  and  John  respectively,  as  setting 
forth  the  human,  the  conquering,  the  sacrificial,  and  the 
heaven-regarding  aspects  of  Christ's  being.  We  shall 
probably  be  nearer  the  truth,  however,  if  we  say  that 
while  the  first  Gospel  sets  forth  Christ's  life  and  teaching 
with  reference  to  \\\Qpast,  as  the  fulfilment  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, the  Gospel  of  Mark  exhibits  that  life  in  ih^ present,  as 
a  manifestation  of  the  activity  and  power  so  congenial  to  the 
Roman  mind  ;  St.  Luke,  as  a  Greek,  depicts  it  in  its  catholic 
and  comprehensive  character,  as  destined  in  the  future 
to  embrace  within  its  saving  influence  all  the  kindreds  of 
the  Gentiles  ;  while  the  fourth  Gospel  represents  it  in  its 
absolute  perfection  as  it  is  related  to  the  Father  in  eternity} 
While  there  is  no  such  thing  as  uniformity  in  Scripture 
any  more  than  in  Nature  or  the  Church,  there  is  an  essen- 
tial and  deep-lying  unity  which  cannot  be  broken  without 
serious  injury  to  the  truth.  The  right  way  to  use  the 
Gospels  is  to  combine  their  various  testimony,  allowing 
each  to  tell  its  story  in  its  own  Avay,  and  to  contribute  its 

1  Recently  an  ingenious  and  laborious  to  meet  "a  widely  prevailing  desire  to 

attempt  has  been  made  by  the  Rev.  J.  J.  combine  the  three  authorised   histories 

Halcombe   to    reverse    the    traditional  into  a  single  composite  whole  " — a  task 

view  of  the  relations  between  the  Synop-  which   had     been     attempted     by    the 

tics  and  the  Fourth  Gospel.     According  "  many"  to  whom  St.  Luke  refers  in  his 

to    Mr.   Halcombe's    theory,    St.  John  preface,  and  which  we  can  see  to  have 

wrote   his   Gospel   very   soon   after  the  been  successfully  accomplished  by  that 

Ascension,  as  "  the  original  and  founda-  Evangelist  himself,  if  we    assume   that 

tion  title-deed  of  the  Church   and  the  Luke     xi.14 — .\iii.21     was    accidentally 

Christian    faith";    St.    Matthew's    was  transposed  in  the  original  MS.,  and  that 

written  after  an  interval  of  some  six  or  its  proper  place  is  immediately  after  viii. 

eight  years,  or  even  longer,  as  a  supple-  21. 

mental  and  companion  volume,  and  was  Mr  Halcombe  claims  for  this  arrangc- 

followed    almost    immediately   by    St.  ment  of  the  Four  Gospels  that  it  is  as 

Mark's  as  "  an  explanatory  supi)lement  superior    in    point    of   intelligibility   to 

to    St.  Matthew's  record";    while    St.  that  which  puts  St.  John's  Gospel  last 

Luke's  was  written  much  later,  in  order  (cf.  p.  72),  as  W  O  R  D  is  to  O  R  D  W  ! 


N'ew  Testament  and  Its  Writers. 


II. 


allotted  part  to  a  full  and  adequate  conception  of  the 
Lord's  personality  and  work.  While  each  possesses  a  dis- 
tinct individuality  of  its  own,  they  may  and  ought  to  be 
united  in  order  to  form  a  complete  and  grander  whole. 
In  this  sense  they  have  been  likened  to  the  four  parts  of 
music,  which  may  be  sung  apart,  but  blend  together  to 
form  a  perfect  harmony.  A  striking  parallel  has  been 
drawn  between  the  work  of  the  first  three  evangelists  and 
the  threefold  portrait  of  Charles  I.  (taken  from  three 
different  points  of  view)  which  Vandyke  prepared  for  the 
sculptor;  ^  while  a  beautiful  illustration  has  been  furnished 
by  an  eloquent  writer,-  who  says  that  "  the  first  three 
evangelists  give  us  diverse  aspects  of  one  glorious  land- 
scape ;  St.  John  pours  over  that  landscape  a  flood  of 
heavenly  sunshine  which  seems  to  transform  its  very  char- 
acter, though  every  feature  of  the  landscape  remains  the 
same."  ^^ 


1  Westcott's  Introduction  to  the  Study 
of  the  Gospels,  p.  251. 

'-  Farrar's  Messages  of  the  Books, 
p.  II. 

s  With  regard  to  the  harmony  of  the 
four  Gospels  in  matters  of  historical  de- 
tail, while  it  is  true  that  we  meet  with 
apparent  discrepancies  which  it  would 
require  more  complete  information  than 
we  possess  to  explain  fully  (for  example, 
as   to    the    date  of  the    Last  Supper, 


whether  on  the  night  of  the  Jewish 
Passover,  as  the  synoptical  Gospels 
would  lead  us  to  suppose,  or  on  the 
night  previous,  which  is  the  impression 
we  receive  from  St.  John's  narrative), 
yet,  on  the  other  hand,  there  are  many 
cases  of  undesigned  harmony  which 
afford  positive  evidence  of  their  histori- 
cal accuracy  and  truthfulness.  (See 
Appendix,  p.  287.) 


CHAPTER  III. 

"THE   GOSPEL  ACCORDING   TO   ST.    MATTHEW." 

I.   Authorship. 

St.  Matthew's  Gospel  has  been  described  by  one  who  can 
scarcely  be  accused  of  partiality  (M.  Renan)  as  "  the  most 
important  book  of  Christendom — the  most  important  book 
that  has  ever  been  written."  Its  importance  is  derived,  not 
from  the  genius  of  the  writer,  but  from  the  grandeur  of  the 
subject.  According  to  the  unanimous  tradition  of  the 
ancient  Church,  as  preserved  in  the  title  which  this  Gospel 
has  borne  ever  since  the  second  century  and  confirmed  by 
the  testimony  of  the  early  Church  Fathers  beginning  with 
Papias  in  the  first  half  of  the  second  century,  the  writer 
of  the  book  was  Matthew,  one  of  the  twelve  apostles. 
But  for  his  authorship  of  this  book,  Matthew  would  have 
been  one  of  the  least-known  of  the  apostles,  as  neither 
Scripture  nor  tradition  gives  us  much  information  re- 
garding him.  Not  a  single  word  or  act  of  his  after  he 
became  a  disciple  of  our  Lord  is  recorded  in  the  Gospels  ; 
and  in  the  Book  of  Acts  his  name  is  never  mentioned  after 
the  descent  of  the  Holy  Spirit  on  the  day  of  Pentecost. 
He  is  evidently  to  be  identified  with  Levi  the  publican,^ 

1  ix.  9,  lo  :  "And  as  Jesus  passed  by  his  house,  and  many  pubhcans  and  sin- 
from  thence,  he  saw  a  man,  called  Mat-  ners  sat  down  with  Jesus  and  his  dis- 
thew,  sitting  at  the  place  of  toll :  and  he  ciples  :  for  there  were  many,  and  they 
saith  unto  him,  F"g11ow  me.  And  he  followed  him."  Luke  v.  27-29:  "And 
arose  and  followed  him.  And  it  came  after  these  things  he  went  forth,  and  be- 
to  pass,  as  he  sat  at  meat  in  the  house,  held  a  publican,  named  Levi,  sitting  at 
behold,  many  publicans  and  sinners  the  place  of  toll,  and  said  unto  him, 
came  and  sat  down  with  Jesus  and  his  Follow  me.  And  he  forsook  all,  and 
disciples."  Mark  ii.  14,  15:  "And  as  rose  up  and  followed  him.  And  Levi 
he  passed  by,  he  saw  Levi  the  son  of  made  him  a  great  feast  in  his  house : 
Alphasus  sitting  at  the  place  of  toll,  and  and  there  was  a  great  multitude  of  pub- 
he  saith  unto  him,  Follow  me.  And  he  licans  and  of  others  that  were  sitting  at 
arose  and  followed  him.  And  it  came  meat  with  them." 
to  pass,  that  he  was  sitting  at  meat  in 


34  New  Testament  and  Its  tVriters.  ill. 

although  it  is  only  in  his  own  Gospel  ^  that  the  despised 
term  "  publican "  is  associated  with  his  apostolic  name  of 
Matthew  ("  the  gift  of  God  "),  which  was  probably  given  to 
him  when  he  was  called  to  the  apostleship,  as  Simon's 
name  was  changed  to  Peter.  He  seems  to  have  been  a 
man  of  worldly  means  and  of  a  generous  disposition,  judg- 
ing from  the  fact  that  on  the  occasion  of  his  apostolic  call, 
when  "  he  forsook  all,  and  rose  up  and  followed  "  Jesus,  he 
made  "a  great  feast"  to  which  he  invited  a  number  of  his 
old  associates.  It  is  noteworthy  that  he  leaves  it  to  the 
other  evangelists  to  mention  him  as  the  giver  of  this  feast, 
and  to  record  his  sacrifice  of  property  in  following  Christ ; 
while  we  have  a  further  token  of  his  modesty  in  the  fact 
that  he  puts  the  name  of  Thomas  before  his  own  in  the 
list  of  apostles,  reversing  the  order  followed  in  the  other 
Gospels.-  Traces  of  the  writer's  profession  as  a  tax- 
gatherer  have  been  found  in  his  use  of  the  term  "  tribute 
money,"  where  the  other  evangelists  employ  the  more 
common  word  "penny"  ;^  and  in  his  use  of  the  word 
"  publicans,"  where  Luke  employs  the  word  "  sinners."  * 
But  perhaps  the  latter  instance,  like  his  use  of  the  word 
"  Gentiles  "  in  the  same  passage,  is  an  indication  rather  of 
his  Jewish  nationality. 

According  to  an  ancient  tradition  derived  from  Papias, 
Matthew  wrote  his  Gospel  in  Hebrew,'' — to  which  Irenaeus 
adds  that  he  published  it  among  the  Jews  "while  Peter 
and    Paul    were   preaching   in    Rome    and   founding    the 

1  X.  3:    "Thomas,  and  Matthew  the  ^  'Mardaios  fxh  ^vv'^^pa'tSi.  StaXeKTip 

pubhcan."  xa    \6'yLa    crvveypdtpaTo,  i)p/j.7ji'€V(T€    5' 

^  X.  3  ;  Mark  iii.  18  ;  Luke  vi.  15.  avrd  cjs  TjSvvaTO  eVacrros.      This  state- 

3  xxii.    19:    "Shew     me  the    tribute  ment  of  Papias  that  "each  one  inter- 

raoney.'      Mark  xu.  15:   "Bring  me  a  preted  them  {i.e.,  oracles)  as  he  could  " 

penny,  that  I  may  see  It."    Luke  xx.  24  :  seems    to    imply    that    the    case    was 

Shew  me  a  penny."  different   when   he   WTOte,    there   being 

■*v.  46,  47:   "  For  if  ye  love  them  that  then    an    authoritative    translation     in 

love  you,  what  reward  have  ye?  do  not  general  use.     As  a  matter  of  fact,   we 

even  the  publicans  the  same  ?    And  if  find  no  traces  of  any  other  Greek  ver- 

ye  salute  your  brethren  only,  what  do  sion  of  St.   Matthew,  at  any  time,    to 

ye  more  than  others?  do  not  even  the  compete  with   the  Gospel   bearing   his 

Gentiles  the  same?"     Luke  vi.  32-34:  name,    which    is    found    in    the    New 

And  if  ye  love  them  that  love   you,  Testament  canon.     This  is  a  very  im- 

what  thank  have  ye?  for  even  sinners  portant   fact   in  any  question  affecting 

love  those  that  love  them,"  &c.  the  authority  of  our  first  Gospel. 


III. 


5/  Matthezv. 


Church  there."  Euscbius,  in  the  beginning  of  the  fourth 
century,  tells  us  that  Matthew  wrote  it  when  he  was  about 
to  leave  the  Jews  and  preach  also  to  other  nations,  in  order 
to  "  fill  up  the  void  about  to  be  made  in  his  absence."  ^  If 
this  tradition  be  correct,  the  Hebrew  original  must  have 
been  very  soon  superseded  by  the  Greek  Gospel  which  we 
now  possess.  This  was  only  to  be  expected,  considering 
the  growing  disuse  of  Hebrew,  and  the  gradual  lapse  of 
the  Jewish  Christians  into  a  heresy  which  alienated  them 
from  the  rest  of  the  Church."  Whether  the  Gospel  was 
written  over  again  by  Matthew  in  Greek,  or  translated, 
perhaps  under  his  supervision,  by  some  other  writer,  with 
additions  from  a  Greek  source,  is  a  question  which  we 
cannot  certainly  answer.-^    That  Matthew  may  have  written 


1  Eusebius  mentions  a  tradition  that 
when  Pantnsnus  of  Alexandria  (who 
lived  in  the  latter  part  of  the  second 
century)  went  to  preach  to  the  Indians, 
he  found  the  Gospel  of  Matthew  in 
Hebrew  already  in  their  possession, 
they  having  received  it  from  the  Apostle 
Bartholomew  when  he  preached  among 
them.  But  the  story  is  unsupported  by 
any  other  evidence,  and  is  not  in  itself 
probable,  as  Greek  would  be  more  likely 
to  be  known  to  the  Indians  than  He- 
brew. Jerome,  in  the  end  of  the  fourth 
century,  informs  us  that  he  found  a 
Hebrew  Gospel,  which  he  believed  to  be 
the  original  of  Matthew,  in  the  library 
at  Csesarea,  and  that  he  transcribed  it 
and  afterwards  translated  it  into  Greek. 
He  gives  extracts  from  it,  but  they  are 
not  such  as  to  enable  us  to  identify  it 
with  our  first  Gospel.  The  same  may 
be  said  of  the  quotations  from  an  Ebi- 
onite  Gospel  which  are  found  in  the 
writings  of  Epiphanius.  This  writer 
mentions  another  Gospel  in  Hebrew  in 
use  among  the  Nazarenes,  who  flour- 
ished, as  he  tells  us,  at  Syrian  Berrea 
(Aleppo), — the  same  place  where  Jerome 
had  received  permission  to  copy  the 
Hebrew  Gospel  already  mentioned. 
(For  a  full  discussion  of  the  subject 
see  Salmon's  Introduction,  chap.  x). 

2  The  Ebionite  heresy,  so  named  from 
a  Hebrew  word  meaning /cw/-,  the  early 
Jewish  Christians  being  noted  for  their 
poverty.  Their  heresy  consisted  for  the 
most  part  in  holding  the  continued  ob- 
ligation of  the  Jewish  Law,  and  denying 


the  Divinity  of  the  Saviour  while  admit- 
ting His  Messiahship.  The  name  of 
Nazarenes  (originally  given  to  Christians 
generally  ;  Acts  xxiv.  5)  was  applied  in 
the  fourth  century  to  a  less  heretical 
sect  who  continued  to  observe  the  Jewish 
Law. 

^  It  is  now  very  generally  admitted  that 
in  our  Gospel  of  Matthew  there  are 
features  inconsistent  with  the  character 
of  a  translation  from  the  Hebrew.  These 
are  [a]  plays  on  Greek  words  (vi.  16; 
xxi.  41  ;  .xxiv.  30) ;  [b]  explanations  of 
Hebrew  words  (i.  23;  xxvii.  33,  46); 
{c)  statements  regarding  Jewish  cus- 
toms, i&c,  that  could  not  have  been 
intended  for  Jewish  readers  contem- 
porary with  the  apostle  (xxii.  23 ; 
xxvii.  15  ;  xxviii.  15).  We  can  imagine 
[a]  and  (i^)  to  have  possibly  been  intro- 
duced by  a  translator,  but  [c)  can 
scarcely  be  thus  accounted  for.  [d]  In 
a  number  of  passages  common  to  this 
Gospel  with  the  other  synoptics,  it  is  evi- 
dent that  the  author  has  drawn  directly 
from  a  Greek  source  whether  oral  or 
written.  It  has  also  been  noticed  that 
while  the  greater  part  of  the  quotations 
in  this  Gospel  are  from  the  Septuagint 
(occurring  chiefly  in  passages  common  to 
the  synoptics),  a  considerable  number  are 
taken  direct  from  the  Hebrew.  In  this 
fact  Westcott  finds  a  strong  confirma- 
tion of  his  theory  that  our  Gospel  of 
Matthew  is  the  work  of  an  unknown 
author  who  worked  up  the  Hebrew  or 
Aramaic  record  of  St  Matthew  with  the 
oral  Greek  Gospel. 


36  New  Testament  and  Its  Writers.  iii. 

the  Gospel  in  both  languages  is  in  itself  not  unlikely,  as 
we  know  that  Josephus  wrote  his  history  both  in  Hebrew 
and  in  Greek ^ — these  two  languages  being  current  in  Pales- 
tine at  that  time,  as  English  and  Gaelic  are  now  in  the 
Highlands  of  Scotland.  But  it  must  be  admitted  to  be  a 
weak  point  in  this  theory  that  there  is  no  trace  of  it  in  the 
writings  of  the  Fathers. 

2.  Date  of  Composition. 

From  evidence  afforded  by  a  study  of  the  book  itself 
(taken  in  connection  with  the  tradition  above  mentioned), 
it  has  been  reasonably  inferred  that  the  Gospel  in  its 
present  form  probably  appeared  before  66  A.D.,  when  the 
war  which  was  to  issue  in  the  destruction  of  the  Jewish 
capital  was  on  the  eve  of  breaking  out.  Such  evidence  is 
found  in  the  use  of  the  expressions  -  "  holy  city,"  "  the 
holy  place,"  "the  city  of  the  great  King,"  as  well  as  in  the 
mysterious  nature  of  the  language  used  by  the  Saviour  in 
His  prediction  of  the  city's  coming  doom.  In  particular, 
the  caution  given  by  the  writer  in  xxiv.  1 5  ("  whoso 
readeth,  let  him  understand,")  would  have  had  no  force  or 
meaning  after  the  predicted  calamity  had  occurred. 

3.   Character  and  Contents, 

The  leading  characteristic  of  St.  Matthew's  Gospel,  as 
might  be  expected  in  a  work  intended  for  the  Hebrews, 
consists  in  the  representation  of  Jesus  as  tJie  Messiah,  in 
whom  was  fulfilled  the  Law  and  the  Prophets.  In  this 
respect  it  is  fitly  placed  immediately  after  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, as  the  uniting  link  between  the  old  and  the  new 
covenants. 

The  first  verse  strikes  the  keynote,  "  The  book  of  the 
generation  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  son  of  David,  the  son  of 
Abraham " — son    of  David    as    the   heir  of   the   promised 

1  Modern  instances  may  also  be  found;       an  extended  form  under  the  title  "  De 
e.g.  Bacon  published  a  Latin  translation       Augmentis  Scientiarum." 
of  his  "Advancement  of  Learning,"  in  2  iv.  5  ;  v.  35;  xxiv.  15;  xxvii.  53. 


III.  S^.  Matthew.  t^j 

kingdom,  son  of  Abraham  as  the  child  of  promise  in 
whom  alt  the  families  of  the  earth  were  to  be  blessed. 
The  whole  book  may  be  regarded  as  depicting  the 
gradual  realisation  of  these  claims  in  a  spiritual  sense  ; 
the  culminating  point  being  reached  in  the  glorious  de- 
claration by  the  risen  Lord,  "  All  authority  hath  been 
given  unto  me  in  heaven  and  on  earth.  Go  ye  there- 
fore, and  make  disciples  of  all  the  nations,  baptizing  them 
into  the  name  of  the  Father  and  of  the  Son  and  of  the 
Holy  Ghost :  teaching  them  to  observe  all  things  whatso- 
ever I  commanded  you  :  and  lo,  I  am  with  you  alway,  even 
unto  the  end  of  the  world,"  ^  In  the  course  of  the  Gospel 
there  are  no  less  than  sixty  citations  of  Old  Testament 
prophecy  as  fulfilled  in  Jesus,  the  usual  formula  of  quotation 
being  "  that  it  might  be  fulfilled  which  was  spoken  by  (the 
prophet)."  Equally  significant  is  the  frequency  of  the  ex- 
pression "  kingdom  of  heaven  "  (literally  "  kingdom  of  the 
heavens,"  reflecting  the  Hebrew  idiom),  which  occurs  thirty- 
two  times,  and  the  designation  "Son  of  David,"  which 
occurs  seven  times  as  applied  to  Jesus. 

The  whole  plan  of  the  book  is  in  harmony  with  its 
Messianic  character.  First  we  have  the  nativity  of  Him 
who  was  "born  King  of  the  Jews"  and  was,  at  the 
same  time,  to  "  save  his  people  from  their  sins,"  with  the 
strange  mingling  of  light  and  shadow,  of  glory  and  suffer- 
ing, which  was  to  be  typical  of  the  whole  life.^'  Then  comes 
the  Prelude  to  the  Ministry,  when  the  approach  of  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  is  announced  by  the  predicted  Fore- 
runner, and  the  Baptism  of  Jesus,  as  the  fulfilment  of  all 
righteousness  and  the  consecration  to  His  public  ministry, 
becomes  the  signal  for  a  manifestation  of  the  divine  favour 
in  the  voice  from  heaven, "  This  is  my  beloved  Son,  in  whom 
I  am  well  pleased," — followed  by  the  Temptation,  in  which 
the  decisive  choice  is  made  between  the  "  kingdoms  of  this 
world  "  and  the  unseen  kingdom  of  the  Spirit.^  The  way 
is  thus  cleared  for  successive  representations  of  the  Saviour 

^xxviii.  18-20.  -I.,  ii.  ^jij. — iv,   n. 


38  New  Testament  and  Its  Writers.  in. 

as  Lawgiver,  Prophet,  and  King.  In  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount,^  the  Charter  of  the  new  kingdom,  He  proclaims  the 
Law  as  from  a  second  Sinai  with  new  meaning  and  power, 
— a  little  later  He  charges  the  twelve  apostles,  whom 
He  commissions  to  preach  the  Gospel  in  His  name,^ — at 
another  time  He  delivers  the  long  series  of  parables  in 
which  the  origin,  progress,  and  final  destiny  of  the  king- 
dom are  shown  forth,^ — anon  He  lays  down  the  principles 
that  are  to  guide  the  members  of  the  Church  in  their 
relations  to  one  another,  especially  to  their  erring  brethren.* 
Then  as  the  conflict  with  hatred  and  unbelief  grows  ever 
fiercer,  there  break  forth  His  prophetic  warnings  of  the 
nation's  impending  doom  and  His  denunciations  against  the 
Jewish  priests  and  rulers,  while  He  becomes  more  and  more 
out-spoken  in  the  assertion  of  His  Messianic  claims;^  till 
at  last  there  comes  the  awful  tragedy  upon  the  Cross,  com- 
pleting the  sacrifice  He  has  to  offer  as  God's  High  Priest, 
and  giving  place  in  turn  to  the  triumph  of  the  Resurrec- 
tion.*^ Interspersed  throughout  the  whole  are  mighty  works 
and  gracious  words,  spoken  and  wrought  for  the  suffering 
and  the  sinful,  which  bespeak  Him  as  the  Sent  of  God. 

There  is  a  wonderful  symmetry  in  the  whole  narrative, 
and  many  subtle  contrasts.  In  xvi.  21,  "  From  that  time 
began  Jesus  to  shew  unto  his  disciples  how  that  he  must  go 
unto  Jerusalem  and  suffer  .  .  .  and  be  killed,"  there  is  a 
striking  contrast  to  iv.  17,  "  From  that  time  began  Jesus  to 
preach,  and  to  say.  Repent  ye  :  for  the  kingdom  of  heaven 
is  at  hand" — the  one  marking  the  commencement  of  His 
Passion,  as  the  other  of  His  active  Ministry.  There  is  a 
correspondence  also  between  the  voice  from  heaven  at  His 
Baptism,'''  and  that  heard  at  His  Transfiguration  ^  when  His 
ministry  reached  its  climax  and  was  sealed  by  the  divine 
testimony  in  the  presence  of  the  two  greatest  prophets  of 

|||,iv. — vii.                        -x.  ■'xviii.                 s.xxi. — xxv. 

*  xiii.    (seven    in    number  —  like    the  "xxvi. — xxviii. 

Beatitudes  in  chap.  v. — viz.,  the  Sower,  "iii.  17  :  "  This  is  my  beloved  Son,  in 

the  Tares,  the  Mustard-seed,  the  Leaven,  whom  1  am  well  pleased." 

the  hid  Treasure,  the  goodly  Pearl,  and  ^xvii.  5  :  "This  is  my  beloved  Son,  in 

the  Draw-net).  whom  I  am  well  pleased  ;  hear  ye  him." 


III. 


SL  Matthew. 


39 


the  old  covenant,  Moses  and  EHas,  as  it  had  just  before 
been  attested  by  the  great  confession  of  Peter. ^  That  con- 
fession was  a  token  that  the  ministry  of  power  and  love  had 
done  its  work  upon  the  hearts  of  the  disciples,  and  it  is  fitly 
followed  by  the  announcement  of  His  appointed  sufferings, 
the  disciples  being  now  ready  to  follow  their  Master  through 
the  valley  of  His  humiliation,  which  was  to  conduct  them 
at  last  from  the  blackness  and  darkness  of  death  to  the 
glories  of  divine  life  and  immortality. 

A  distinguishing  feature  of  this  Gospel  is  the  large  place 
assigned  in  it  to  the  zuords'-  of  Jesus,  arranged  in  a  systematic 
form,  not  broken  up  into  fragments  as  they  are  in  the  other 
Gospels.  For  this  reason  Godet  compares  Luke  to  "  a 
botanist  who  prefers  to  contemplate  a  flower  in  the  very 
place  of  its  birth  and  in  the  midst  of  its  natural  surround- 
ings, while  Matthew  is  like  the  gardener  who  for  some  special 
object  puts  together  large  and  magnificent  bouquets."^ 
To  some  extent  this  remark  is  applicable  to  Matthew's 
grouping  of  incidents  in  our  Lord's  life,  as  well  as  to  his 
arrancfement  of  discourses. 


i.wi.  i6:  "And  Simon  Peter  answered 
and  said.  Thou  art  the  Christ,  the  Son 
of  the  hving  God." 

-  Forming  about  a  fourth  part  of  the 
whole  book. 

•*  Godet  traces  five  such  general  dis- 
courses in  Matthew's  Gospel,  viz.,  the 
Sermon  on  the  Mount  (v.-vii. ),  the 
•official  instructions  to  the  twelve 
apostles  (x.),  the  series  of  parables  on 
the  kingdom  of  heaven  (xiii.),  prin- 
ciples of  Church  discipline  (xviii.),  and 
utterances  relating  to  Christ's  exercise 
of  judgment  (xxiii.-xxv.) — all  of  them 
closing  with  similar  words  (vii.  28  ;  xi. 


i;  xiii.  53;  xix.  i;  xxvi.  i).  These 
five  discourses  he  regards  as  forming 
the  Hebrew  original  of  Matthew's 
Gospel,  and  finds  in  their  number  a 
correspondence  with  the  five  books  of 
Papias  on  the  Lord's  Discourses.  But 
it  is  now  generally  admitted  that  the 
Lord's  Oracles  is  a  more  correct  ren- 
dering of  the  title  of  Papias'  work 
{KvpiaKQv  \oyicov)  ;  and,  besides,  the 
structure  of  the  Gospel  is  too  subtle 
and  complex  to  admit  of  such  mechani- 
cal treatment.  (Godet's  Biblical  Studies 
— English  Translation,  8th  edition,  pp. 
15-20.) 


CHAPTER  IV. 

"THE   GOSPEL   ACCORDING   TO   ST.    MARK." 

I.  Aittkorship. 

The  testimony  of  the  early  Fathers,  so  far  as  it  has 
reached  us,  unanimously  ascribes  the  second  Gospel  to 
St.  Mark ;  but  with  equal  unanimity  they  connect  it  with 
the  preaching  of  the  Apostle  Peter.  The  earliest  witness 
is  Papias,  the  bishop  already  referred  to,  who  makes  the 
following  statement  on  the  authority  of  John,  a  contempo- 
rary of  the  apostles,  if  not  the  apostle  of  that  name  :  "This 
also  the  elder  used  to  say :  Mark  having  become  Peter's 
interpreter,  wrote  accurately  whatever  things  he  remem- 
bered that  were  either  said  or  done  by  Christ  ;  but  not  in 
order.  For  he  neither  heard  the  Lord  nor  followed  Him  ; 
but  subsequently,  as  I  said,  attached  himself  to  Peter,  who 
used  to  frame  his  teaching  to  meet  the  wants  of  his 
hearers,  but  not  as  making  a  connected  narrative  of  the 
Lord's  oracles  (or  discourses).  So  Mark  committed  no 
error  in  thus  writing  down  particulars  just  as  he  remem- 
bered them  ;  for  he  took  heed  to  one  thing,  to  omit  none 
of  the  things  that  he  had  heard,  and  to  state  nothing 
falsely  in  his  account  of  them."  ^ 

So  little  doubt  seems  to  have  been  entertained  regard- 
ing the  Petrine  authorship  of  this  Gospel    that   we   find 

1  Kat    70VT0    6    irpea^vTepos    eXeye.  ewoieiTo    rds    didacTKoXias,     a\\      ovx 

MdpKos       fj.€i>       epiJ.7]vevTr]%        Yl^Tpov  uxnrep     crvvra^iv    tQv     KvpiaKwv    ttol- 

yevo/ULefos,   oaa    efj.vrjix.6vevffev,    dKpijiws  ovfi€vo%  \oy'i.wv  (or  \6yo3v)  (bare  ovdhv 

eypa^ev,    ov  /jJi'toi.  rd^ei.,  to,    inro   toO  ij/xapre     MdpKos,    ovtios    evia    yp6.\pas 

'KpLOTou    7)    Xex^^vTa    7)     trpaxdivTa.  Cos  dirofii'ii/j.oi'evaev.     'TSvos  yap  eTroii}- 

OOre    yap     iJKovae    tov    Kvpiov,     oiire  caro  -KpbvoLav,   tov    ixrjS^v    ibv    iJKovcre 

Tra,',r)Ko\ov0r]crev  avrip,   varepov   dk,    ws  TrapaXnreiv  t)  \p€vaa(X0al    ti  iv  avrols. 

(<t>T]v,     Uirptfi,     65     irpos     rds     XP^"*'  Eus.  H.  E.  iii.  40. 


IV.  S^.  Mark.  41 

Justin  Martyr  apparently  referring  to  it  as  the  Memoirs  of 
Peter.^  According  to  Irenaeus,  it  was  written  by  Mark  at 
Rome  after  the  death  of  Peter  and  Paul ;  while  Clement 
of  Alexandria,  writing  about  the  same  time,  affirms,  on 
the  tradition  of  a  long  line  of  presbyters,  that  St.  Mark 
wrote  at  the  request  of  Peter's  hearers  at  Rome,  without 
any  interference  on  the  part  of  Peter  himself. 

Regarding  the  history  of  the  Mark  thus  referred  to,  and 
his  relations  with  the  Apostle  Peter,  we  derive  information 
from  Scripture  which  is  fitted  to  corroborate  in  a  great 
measure  the  ancient  tradition.  There  can  be  no  doubt 
that  we  are  to  identify  him  with  the  John  Mark  mentioned 
in  Acts  xii.  12,  whose  mother  Mary  was  an  influential 
member  of  the  Church  at  Jerusalem — her  house  being  the 
place  where  prayer  was  made  for  Peter  by  the  brethren 
during  his  imprisonment,  and  where  he  himself  repaired 
immediately  after  his  liberation.  It  is  an  interesting 
conjecture  that  this  house  may  have  been  the  scene  of  the 
Last  Supper  and  of  the  Pentecostal  effusion  of  the  Holy 
Spirit.  It  has  also  been  suggested  that  the  "  young  man  " 
referred  to  in  Mark's  Gospel,  in  connection  with  the 
arrest  in  the  garden,  may  have  been  none  other  than  the 
author  of  the  book,  who  was  thus  led  to  record  an  incident 
which  to  others  would  have  appeared  insignificant.- 
Mark's  intimacy  with  Peter  at  a  later  time  is  evident  from 
I  Peter  v.  13,^  where  the  apostle  conveys  Mark's  salutation 
to  his  readers  in  Asia  Minor ;  and  from  the  designation 
which  Peter  there  applies  to  him  ("  my  son  "),  we  may 
infer  that  he  was  one  of  that  apostle's  converts.  It  appears 
that  at  the  time  the  epistle  was  written  he  was  residing 
with  Peter  in  Babylon,  but  although  the  Eastern  city 
of  that  name  was   then,   and  continued    to  be   for  long 

1  Kat    TO  elireLv  ij.eT(i}votJ.aKivaL  avTov  -   xiv.    51:     "And   a  certain    young 

JUrpov      eva     tQv      diroaroXwi',      Kai  man  followed  with  him,  having  a  linen 

yeypd<pdai    iv    tois    dTro/j.vri/j.ov€Vfia<n  cloth   cast  about    him,    over  his  naked 

avTov   yiyev-n/x^voy   Kai    rovro.       Dial.  '^ody  :  and  they  lay  hold  on  hmi;  but 

c.     106.      The    above    is    the    natural  he  left  the  linen  cloth   and  Hed  naked, 

rendering  of   the  words,    according   to  ,    ■*  ^  I'eter  v.  13:   "  hhe  that  is  m  Baby- 

/usiiWs    usage;    but   some  take  avTov  1°"'   ^^''''\   together  with  you,   saluteth 

to  refer  to  Christ.  ^o"  =  ''^"^  ^°  ^^"'^  ^^^""^  '">'  '°"- 


42  New  Testament  and  Its  Writers.  iv. 

afterwards,  a  famous  seat  of  Jewish  learning,  there  is  reason 
to  believe  that  in  the  passage  referred  to  Babylon  is  only 
another  name  for  Rome  (Chap.  xxi.  §  3).  Previous  to 
his  association  with  Peter  in  apostolic  work  abroad,  Mark 
had  accompanied  Paul  and  Barnabas  as  their  "  minister " 
or  assistant,  but  had  withdrawn  from  the  work.^  After 
some  years,  he  rejoined  his  cousin  Barnabas,  whose  will- 
ingness to  receive  him  again  as  a  colleague  was  so  dis- 
pleasing to  Paul  that  he  parted  company  with  Barnabas 
on  this  account.-  We  find  him  again  enjoying  Paul's  con- 
fidence, however,  during  the  imprisonment  of  the  latter  at 
Rome ;  for  the  apostle  commends  him  to  the  Colossians 
as  one  of  his  "  fellow- workers  unto  the  kingdom  of  God," 
who  had  been  a  "comfort"  to  him.^  Mark  was  then, 
apparently,  about  to  set  out  for  Asia  ;  and,  accordingly, 
we  find  Paul,  during  his  second  imprisonment,  requesting 
Timothy  to  bring  him  with  him  (from  Ephesus),  because 
he  was  "  useful  to  him  for  ministering."  ^  This  is  the  last 
time  we  hear  of  Mark  in  Scripture  ;  but  according  to  tradi- 
tion he  returned  to  Rome,  and,  after  the  martyrdom  of 
Peter  and  Paul,  went  to  Alexandria,  where  he  founded  a 
famous  catechetical  school,  and  died  a  martyr's  death.^ 

Turning  now  to  internal  evidence,  we  find  strong  con- 
firmation of  the  traditional  account.  The  book  may  be 
described  as  very  much  an  expansion  or  development 
of  the  brief  statement  made  by  Peter  in  his  address  to 
Cornelius  and  his  friends.*^      It  also  follows  closely  the  line 

1  Acts  xii.  25:  "And  Barnabas  and  him  who  withdrew  from  them  from 
Saul  returned  from  Jerusalem  [i.e.,  to  Pamphylia,  and  went  not  with  them  to 
Antioch),  when  they  had  fulfilled  their  the  work.  And  there  arose  a  sharp 
ministration,  taking  with  them  John  contention,  so  that  they  parted  asunder 
whose  surname  was  Mark."  xiii.  5,  13  :  one  from  the  other,  and  Barnabas  took 
"  And  when  they  were  at  Salamis,  they  Mark  with  him,  and  sailed  away  unto 
proclaimed  the  word  of  God  in  the  Cyprus ;  but  Paul  chose  Silas,  and 
synagogues  of  the  Jews  :  and  they  had  went  forth,  being  commended  by  the 
also  John  as  their  attendant.  .  .  .  Now  brethren  to  the  grace  of  the  Lord." 
Paul  and  his  company  set  sail  from  <*  Col.  iv.  10,  11;  Philemon  ver.  24. 
Paphos,   and   came  to  Perga  in    Pam-  •*  2  Tim.  iv.  11. 

phylia :  and  John  departed  from  them  •■>  In  the  9th  century  St.  Mark's  body 

and  returned  to  Jerusalem."  is  said  to  have  been  transferred  from 

2  Acts  XV.  37-40:  ".-Xnd  Barnabas  Alexandria  to  Venice,  where  he  has 
was  minded  to  take  with  them  John  been  honoured  as  patron-saint  ever 
also,  who  was  called  Mark.     But  Paul  since. 

thought  not  good   to   take   with   them  "^cts   x.    37-42:    "That   saying    ye 


IV. 


SL  Mark. 


43 


of  apostolic  testimony  which  Peter  had  himself  marked  out 
immediately  after  the  Ascension.^  The  whole  tone  of  the 
book  reflects  Peter's  energetic,  impulsive,  unconventional 
character.  Its  rapid  transition  from  one  incident  to  another 
— of  which  we  have  a  striking  illustration  in  the  fact  that 
the  Greek  word  ^  variously  translated  "  straightway,"  "  im- 
mediately," "  forthwith,"  &c.,  occurs  in  it  no  less  than  forty- 
one  times  ;  its  practical  matter-of-fact  tone,  illustrated  by 
the  fact  that  while  it  records  eighteen  miracles  it  contains 
only  four  parables,^  and  twice  represents  the  Lord  and  His 
disciples  as  having  their  hands  so  full  of  work  that  "they 
could  not  so  much  as  eat  bread  "  ^  ;  its  vivid  description  of 
the  excitement  occasioned  by  Christ's  ministry,  and  of  the 
profound  impression  made  on  those  who  heard  and  saw 
Him,  which  would  be  a  subject  congenial  to  Peter's  en- 
thusiastic nature^;  its  omission  of  some  things  redounding 


yourselves  know,  which  was  published 
throughout  all  Judjea,  beginning  from 
Galilee,  after  the  baptism  which  John 
preached  ;  even  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  how 
that  God  anointed  him  with  the  Holy 
Ghost  and  with  power :  who  went 
about  doing  good,  and  healing  all  that 
were  oppressed  of  the  devil ;  for  God 
was  with  him.  And  we  are  witnesses 
of  all  things  which  he  did  both  in  the 
country  of  the  Jews,  and  in  Jerusalem  ; 
whom  also  they  slew,  hanging  him  on 
a  tree.  Him  God  raised  up  the  third 
day,  and  gave  him  to  be  made  manifest, 
not  to  all  the  people,  but  unto  witnesses 
that  were  chosen  before  of  God,  even  to 
us,  who  did  eat  and  drink  with  him 
after  he  rose  from  the  dead.  And  he 
charged  us  to  preach  unto  the  people, 
and  to  testify  that  this  is  he  which  is 
ordained  of  God  to  be  the  Judge  of  quick 
and  dead." 

1  Acts  i.  21,  22  :  "Of  the  men  there- 
fore which  have  companied  with  us  all 
the  time  that  the  Lord  Jesus  went  in  and 
went  out  among  us,  beginning  from  the 
baptism  of  John,  unto  the  day  that  he 
was  received  up  from  us,  of  these  must 
one  become  a  witness  with  us  of  his 
resurrection." 

-  '¥iv6i(i3s  or  evdv$.  The  word  occurs 
only  eighteen  times  in  Matthew,  and 
eight  times  in  Luke. 

^  Viz.,  the  Sower,  the  Mustard  seed, 
the  wicked  Husbandman,  and  the  Seed 


growing  secretly, — the  last  being  pecu- 
liar to  this  Gospel.  It  is  "the  kingdom  of 
God  "  they  refer  to — an  expression  that 
is  characteristic  of  Mark  and  Luke,  as 
distinguished  from  "the  kingdom  of 
heaven,"  which  is  the  usual  form  in 
Matthew's  Gospel. 

■*  Mark  iii.  20  :  "  .\nd  the  multitude 
Cometh  together  again,  so  that  they  could 
not  so  much  as  eat  bread."  vi.  31  :  "  For 
there  were  many  coming  and  going,  and 
they  had  no  leisure  so  much  as  to  eat." 
In  i.  21-39  '^^'s  have  a  fuller  account  of 
a  single  day  in  our  Lord's  ministry  than 
is  to  be  found  in  any  other  Gospel — if 
we  except  the  history  of  the  Passion 
week.  It  describes  also  His  retirement 
for  prayer  ;  and  thus  contains  a  picture 
in  miniature  of  the  whole  life,  which  is 
represented  in  this  Gospel  as  an  alter- 
nation of  rest  and  toil,  of  prayer  and 
conflict. 

^e.g.,  i.  27:  "And  they  were  all 
amazed,  insomuch  that  they  questioned 
among  themselves,  saying,  \\'hat  is  this  ? 
a  new  teaching  !  with  authority  he  com- 
mandeth  even  the  unclean  spirits,  and 
they  obey  him."  i.  33:  "And  all  the 
city  was  gathered  together  at  the  door." 
ii.  2:  "And  many  were  gathered  to- 
gether, so  that  there  was  no  longer  room 
for  them,  no,  not  even  about  the  door  : 
and  he  spake  the  word  unto  them." 
ii.  12:  "They  were  all  amazed,  and 
glorified  God,  saying,  We  never  saw  it  on 


44 


Nezv  Testament  and  Its  Writers. 


\\\ 


to  Peter's  credit,  e.g.  his  designation  as  the  rock  on  which 
the  Church  was  to  be  built/  and  the  insertion  of  other 
things  fitted  to  humble  him,  such  as  the  rebuke  he  received 
when  he  would  have  dissuaded  Jesus  from  submitting  tO' 
his  appointed  sufferings,-  and  the  warning  he  received  by 
the  first  crowing  of  the  cock,^  as  well  as  the  introduction 
of  details  which  would  be  likely  to  dwell  in  Peter's 
memory* — all  these  things  lend  a  high  degree  of  pro- 
bability to  the  traditional  account  of  Peter's  connection 
with  this  Gospel.  As  regards  that  part  of  the  tradition 
which  represents  the  Gospel  as  having  been  written  at 
Rome  for  the  Christians  there,  we  find  confirmation  of  it 
in  the  connection  of  Mark  zuitk  Rome  already  referred  to,, 
and  in  his  Roman  name  "  Marcus,''  which  gradually  super- 
seded the  Hebrew  "John  " ;  in  the  absence  of  the  Hebrew/ 


this  fashion."  vi.  33  :  "And  the  people 
saw  them  going,  and  many  knew  them, 
and  they  ran  there  together  on  foot  from 
all  the  cities,  and  outwent  them."  vi. 
54-56  :  "  And  when  they  were  come  out 
of  the  boat  (into  Gennesaret),  straightway 
the  people  knew  him,  and  ran  round 
about  that  whole  region,  and  began  to 
carry  about  on  their  beds  those  that  were 
sick,  where  they  heard  he  was.  And 
wheresoever  he  entered,  into  villages,  or 
into  cities,  or  into  the  country,  they  laid 
the  sick  in  the  market-places,  and  be- 
sought him  that  they  might  touch  if  it 
were  but  the  border  of  his  garment: 
and  as  many  as  touched  him  were  made 
whole." 

lyiii.  29,  30,  cf.  Matt.  xvi.  16-19. 

2  viii.  33  :  "  But  he  turning  about,  and 
seeing  his  disciples,  rebuked  Peter,  and 
saith.  Get  thee  behind  me,  Satan  :  for 
thou  mindest  not  the  things  of  God, 
but  the  things  of  men." 

3  xiv.  68-72  :  "  But  he  denied,  saying,  I 
neither  know,  nor  understand  what  thou 
sayest :  and  he  went  out  into  the  porch  ; 
and  the  cock  crew.  And  the  maid  saw 
him,  and  began  again  to  say  to  them  that 
stood  by.  This  is  one  of  them.  But  he 
again  denied  it.  And  after  a  little  while 
again  they  that  stood  by  said  to  Peter, 
Of  a  truth  thou  art  one  of  them  ;  for 
thou  art  a  Galilcean.  But  he  began  to 
curse,  and  to  swear,  1  know  not  this 
man  of  whom  ye  speak.     And  straight- 


way the  second  time  the  cock  crew. 
And  Peter  called  to  mind  the  word,  how 
that  Jesus  said  unto  him,  Before  the 
cock  crow  twice,  thou  shalt  deny  me 
thrice.  And  when  he  thought  thereon, 
he  wept."  Cf.  Matt.  xxvi.  69-75  :  "... 
And  Peter  remembered  the  word 
which  Jesus  had  said.  Before  the  cock 
crow,  thou  shalt  deny  me  thrice.  And 
he  went  out,  and  wept  bitterly." 

■*  i-36,  37  :  "And  Simon  and  they  thai 
zvei-e  luith  him  follotoed  after  him  ;  and 
they  found  him,  and  say  unto  him,  All 
are  seeking  thee "  ;  cf.  Luke  iv.  42 : 
"And  when  it  was  day,  he  came  out 
and  went  into  a  desert  place :  and  the 
multitudes  sought  after  him,  and  came 
unto  him,  and  would  have  stayed  him, 
that  he  should  not  go  from  them."  xi. 
21  :  "  And  Peter  calling  to  retnembrance- 
saith  nnto  him,  Rabbi,  behold,  the  fig 
tree  which  thou  cursedst  is  withered 
away  "  ;  cf.  Matt.  xxi.  20  :  "  And  when 
the  disciples  saw  it,  they  marvelled, 
saying.  How  did  the  fig  tree  imme- 
diately wither  away?"  xvi.  7:  "But 
go,  tell  his  disciples  and  Peter, 
He  goeth  before  you  into  Galilee." 
i.  29:  "They  came  into  the  house  of 
Simon  a?id  Atidretv,  with  James  and 
John  "  ;  cf.  Matt.  viii.  14  :  "And  when 
Jesus  was  come  into  Peter's  house," 
and  Luke  iv.  38:  "And  he  rose  up. 
from  the  synagogue  and  entered  into- 
the  house  of  Simon. 


IV.  S^.  Mark.  45 

genealogy  of  our  Lord  ;  in  the  explanation  of  JeivisJi  zvords 
e.g.  Boanerges  ("  which  is  Sons  of  Thunder  "),  Talitha  cumi 
("  which  is  being  interpreted,  Damsel,  I  say  unto  thee, 
Arise  "),  Corban  ("  that  is  to  say.  Given  "),  Ephphatha  ("  that 
is,  Be  opened"),  Abba  ("Father"),^  and  oi Jezvish  customs, 
■e.g.  the  washing  of  hands  and  Passover  observances ;  - 
in  the  frequent  use  of  Latin  zvords  and  idioms'^ — and  very 
specially  in  the  mention  of  Alexander  and  Rnfns^  if  the 
latter  be,  as  seems  very  probable,  the  same  person  as  is 
referred  to  by  St  Paul  in  his  Epistle  to  the  Romans.^ 

2.   Date  of  Composition. 

With  regard  to  the  date  of  the  Gospel  we  may  conclude 
in  the  light  of  what  has  been  already  mentioned  that  it 
was  written  between  64  A.D.  and  68  a.d. — the  latter  being 
the  year  of  Nero's  death,  in  whose  reign  Peter  and  Paul 
are  believed  to  have  suffered  martyrdom.  It  contains, 
like  the  first  Gospel,  a  prophecy  of  the  Destruction  of 
Jerusalem,  in  a  form  which  implies  that  the  great  event 
had  not  yet  taken  place.  See  especially  the  parenthetic 
expression  in  xiii.  14  ("let  him  that  readeth  understand"). 
If  we  accept  the  suggestion  above-mentioned,  that  it  is  the 
same  Rufus  that  is  named  in  xv.  21  and  in  Rom.  xvi.  13, 
this  also  is  so  far  a  confirmation  of  its  apostolic  date.  The 
"  rudeness  "  of  its  Greek  and  its  comparative  inattention  to 
doctrinal  interests  are  acknowledged  signs  of  its  primitive 
character. 

1  iii.  17 ;  V.  41 ;  vii.  ii ;  vii.  34  ;  xiv.  36.  (grabatus,    "  bed  ")  he  uses  five  times, 

The  use  of  the    Aramaic   expressions  although  it  does  not  occur  in  Matthew 

themselves  is  a  token  of  fidelity  to  the  or  Luke  (but  in  one  passage  in  John — ■ 

original  tradition.  v.  8-12).      Cf.  the  Roman  expression  in 

-vii.  3,  4:  "For  the  Pharisees,  and  xii.  42:  "two  mites  which  make  a 
all  the  Jews,  except  they  wash  their  farthing"  (Ko5/)aj'T7;s  =  quadrans) ;  and 
hands  diligently,  eat  not.  .  .  ."  xiv.  in  xv.  16:  "the  court,  which  is  the 
12  :  "  And  on  the  first  day  of  unleavened  PrEetoriuni  "  (irpaircbpLov). 
bread,  when  they  sacrificed  the  pass-  4  xv.  21  :  "And  they  compel  one  pass- 
over."  XV.  42:  "...  The  Prepara-  jng  by,  Simon  of  Cyrene,  coming  from 
tion,  that  IS,  the  day  before  the  sabbath."  the   country,    the    father   of  Alexander 

3  (XTTeKovXaTup   (speculator,   "soldier  and  Rufus,  to  go  with  them,  that   he 

of  the   guard"),    KevTvpiwv    (centurio),  might  bear  his  (Jesus')  cross. 
^ia-T-qs    (sextarius,    "pot"),    rb    iKavbv  5  Rom.   xvi.    13:    "Salute   Rufus  the 

iroLrja-at.     (satisfaccre,     "to     content").  chosen  in  the  Lord." 
These  are  peculiar  to  Mark.    /cpajS/iaros 


46 


New  Testament  and  Its  Writers. 


IV. 


3.   Character  and  Contents. 

If  the  first  Gospel  may  be  described  as  Messianic,  the 
second  may  be  fitly  styled  realistic,  bearing  traces  through- 
out of  the  graphic  report  of  an  eye-witness. 

It  is  minute  and  circiunstantial,  giving  many  details  of 
person,  number,  place,  and  time  that  are  not  to  be  found 
in  the  other  Gospels.  ^  It  gives  a  vivid  description  of 
the  emotions,  looks,  gestures,  and  actions  of  our  Lord 
and  others.'^      It   brings  out  the  picturesque   character  of 


1  xiii.  3,  4:  "And  as  he  sat  on  the 
mount  of  OHves  over  against  the  temple, 
Peter  and  James  and  Jolui  and  Andrew 
asked  him  privately,  Tell  us,  when  shall 
these  things  be?  and  what  shall  be 
the  sign  when  these  things  are  all  about 
to  be  accomplished?"  cf.  Matt.  xxiv.  3  : 
"  And  as  he  sat  on  the  Mount  of  Olives, 
the  disciples  came  unto  him  "  ;  Luke 
xxi.  7:  "And  they  asked  him,  saying.' 
\i.  7:  "And  he  called  unto  him  the 
twelve,  and  began  to  send  them  forth 
by  two  and  two  "\cf.  Matt.  x.  5  :  "  These 
twelve  Jesus  sent  forth,  and  charged 
them,  saying";  Luke  ix.  2:  "And  he 
sent  them  forth  to  preach  the  kingdom 
of  God,  and  to  heal  the  sick."  xii.  41  : 
' '  And  He  sat  doum  over  against  the 
treasury,  and  beheld  how  the  multitude 
cast  money  into  the  treasury";  cf.  Luke 
xxi.  i:  "And  he  looked  up,  and  saw 
the  rich  men."  i.  35:  "And  in  the 
morning,  a  great  while  before  day,  he 
rose  up  and  went  out,  and  departed  into 
a  desert  place,  and  there  prayed";  cf. 
Luke  iv.  42  :  "  And  when  it  was  day,  he 
came  out  and  went  into  a  desert  place." 
vi.  21-28  :  "...  Herod  on  his  birth- 
day made  a  supper  to  his  lords,  and  the 
high  captains,  and  the  chief  me?i  of 
Galilee.  .  .  .  And  she  zt'ent  met,  and 
said  unto  her  mother.  What  shall  I 
ask?  .  .  .  And  straightway  the  king 
sent  forth  a  soldier  of  his  guard.  .  .  ." 
^/.  Matt.  xiv.  6-12.  i.  13  :  "And  he  was 
in  the  wilderness  forty  days  tempted  of 
Satan  ;  attd  he  was  with  the  xvild  beasts  ; 
and  the  angels  ministered  unto  hint"  (cj. 
Matt,  iv.,  Luke  iv.). 

2  iii.  5:  "And  when  he  had  looked 
round  about  on  them  with  aiiger," 
&.C.  Cf.  Matt.  xii.  13:  "Thensaith 
he    to     the    man,    Sti-etch     forth    thy 


hand";  Luke  vi.  10:  "And  he 
looked  round  about  on  them  all." 
iii.  34:  "And  looking  round  on  them 
which  sat  round  about  him";  cf.  Matt, 
xii.  49:  "And  he  stretched  forth  his 
hand  towards  his  disciples."  vii.  33 : 
"  And  he  took  him  aside  from  the  multi- 
tude privately ,  and  put  his  fingers  inta 
his  ears,  and  he  spat,  and  touched  his 
tongue ;  and  looking  up  to  heaven,  he 
sighed,  and  saith  unto  him,  Eph- 
phatha."  viii.  33:  "But  he  turning 
about,  and  seeing  his  disciples,  rebuked 
Peter."  ix.  36:  "And  he  took  a  little 
child,  and  set  him  in  the  midst  of  them  : 
and  taking  him  in  his  arins,  he  said 
unto  them";  (/.Matt,  xviii.  2:  "And 
he  called  to  him  a  little  child,  and  set 
him  in  the  midst  of  them,  and  said"; 
Luke  ix.  47  :  "  But  when  Jesus  saw  the 
reasoning  of  their  heart,  he  took  a  little 
child,  and  set  him  by  his  side,  and  said 
unto  them. "  x.  21 :  "  And  Jesus /oo^m^ 
upon  him  laved  him."  x. .  32:  "And 
they  were  in  the  7i<ay,  going  up  to  Jeru- 
salem ;  and  Jesus  was  going  before  thein .' 
and  they  were  amazed  ,■  and  they  that 
folloived  were  afraid";  cf.  Matt.  xx.  17: 
"And  as  Jesus  was  going  up  to  Jeru- 
salem, he  took  the  twelve  disciples 
apart,  and  in  the  way  he  said  unto 
them";  Luke  xviii.  31:  "And  he  took 
unto  him  the  twelve,  and  said  unto 
them."  X.  17:  "And  as  he  7vas  going 
forth  into  the  ivay,  there  ran  one  to  him, 
and  kneeled  to  him,  and  asked  him, 
Good  Master,  what  shall  I  do  that  I  may 
inherit  eternal  life?"  cf.  Matt.  xix.  16: 
"And  behold,  one  came  to  him  and 
said";  Luke  xviii.  18:  "And  a  certain 
ruler  asked  him,  say  uig."  x.  22  :  "But 
his  countenance  fell  at  the  saying  "  ;  cf. 
Matt.  xix.  22  :   "  He  went  away  sorrow- 


IV. 


6*/.  Mark. 


47 


many  of  the  scenes  enacted  in  our  Lord's  ministry,  e.g. 
in  the  narrative  of  the  Feeding  of  the  five  thousand 
this  Gospel  "  alone  tells  us  of  the  fresh  green  grass 
on  which  they  sat  down  by  hundreds  and  by  fifties  ; 
and  the  word  used  for  '  companies '  means  literally 
'  flower  -  beds,'  as  though  to  St.  Peter  those  multitudes, 
in  their  festal  passover  attire,  with  its  many- coloured 
Oriental  brightness  of  red  and  blue,  looked  like  the 
patches  of  crocus  and  poppy  and  tulip  and  amaryllis 
which  he  had  seen  upon  the  mountain  slopes."  ^ 
In  keeping  with  this  is  the  photograpJiic  cJiaractcr  of 
its  account  of  the  Transfiguration  and  the  cure  of 
the  demoniac  boy,"'  and  of  the  storm  on  the  Sea  of 
Gennesaret.^  It  also  frequently  reproduces  the  very  zvords 
of  Jesus ^  and  of  others,-^  using  the  term  "Rabbi,"  or 
teacher  ("Master")  as  the  earlier  mode  of  addressing 
Jesus,  where  the  other  evangelists  prefer  "  Lord  ""^  and 
narrates  events  in  the  present  tense  as  if  they  were  just 
taking  place/ 


ful "  ;  Luke  xviii.  23  :  "  He  became  ex- 
ceeding sorrowful."  x.  50:  "And  he, 
casting  away  his  garment,  sprang  up, 
and  came  to  Jesus  "  ;  cf.  Luke  xviii.  40. 

^  vi.  35-44  (Farrar). 

2  ix.,  cf.  Matt,  xvii.,  Luke  ix.  28-42. 
Raffaelle  is  mainly  indebted  to  this  Gos- 
pel for  the  details  of  his  great  picture. 

•*  iv.  35-41  :  "  .  .  .  They  take  him 
with  them,  even  as  he  was,  in  the  boat. 
And  other  boats  were  with  him.  And 
there  ariseth  a  great  storm  of  wind,  and 
the  waves  beat  into  the  boat,  insomuch 
that  the  boat  was  noio  filling.  And  he 
himself  was  in  the  stern,  asleep  on  the 
cushion"  \  cf.  Matt.  viii.  23,  24:  "And 
when  he  was  entered  into  a  boat,  his 
disciples  followed  him.  And  behold, 
there  arose  a  great  tempest  in  the  sea, 
insomuch  that  the  boat  was  covered 
with  the  waves  :  but  he  was  asleep." 

■*  iv.  39  :  "  Peace,  be  still"  {cf.  Matt, 
viii.  26).  vi.  31  :  "  Come  ye  yourselves 
apart  into  a  desert  place,  and  rest 
a  while."  ix.  25:  "Thou  dumb  and 
deaf  spirit,  I  command  thee,  come  out 
of  him,  and  enter  no  more  into  him  "  ; 
cf.  Matt.  xvii.  18. 

■'  vi.  22-25  (words  of  Herod,  of 
Herodias,  and  of  her  daughter) — the  last 
only  being  found,  in  a  direct  form,  in 
Matthew   (xiv.    6-12).      x.    49:    "And 


Jesus  stood  still,  and  said.  Call  ye  him. 
And  they  call  the  blind  man,  saying 
unto  him.  Be  of  good  cheer  :  rise,  he 
calleth  thee";  cf.  Matt.  xx.  32:  "And 
Jesus  stood  still,  and  called  them." 

6  iv.  38:  "Master,  carest  thou  not 
that  we  perish?"  cf.  Matt.  viii.  25, 
"Save,  Lord;  we  perish."  ix.  5: 
"  Rabbi,  it  is  good  for  us  to  be  here  "  ; 
cf.  Matt.  xvii.  4  :  "  Lord,  it  is  good  for 
us  to  be  here."  x.  51  :  "  Rabboni,  that 
I  may  receive  my  sight";  cf.  Matt. 
XX.  33,  "Lord,  that  our  eyes  may  be 
opened."  (This  feature  of  Mark's 
Gospel  is  in  harmony  with  Peter's 
words  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  "God 
hath  made  him  both  Lord  and  Christ, 
this  Jesus  whom  ye  crucified  "  (Acts  ii. 
36).  But  in  this  light  the  occurrence  of 
the  expression  "the  Lord"  (xvi.  19,  20), 
after  the  Resurrection,  should  scarcely 
be  reckoned,  as  it  is  by  Dr  Farrar, 
among  the  signs  of  spuriousness  of  this 
passage.)  We  find  a  similar  instance 
of  literal  accuracy  in  the  habitual  use 
of  the  name  "  Simon  "  in  the  beginning 
of  the  Gospel,  before  the  apostolic 
name  of  Peter  had  been  conferred,  i.  16, 

^^9.  3°)  36. 

"'e.g.,  i.  40:  "And  there  cometh  to- 
him  a  leper"  ;  cf.  Matt.  viii.  2:  "And 
behold,   there   came  to   him   a  leper." 


48  New  Testament  and  its  Writers.  iv. 

Altogether,  it  is  a  simple,  direct,  forcible  narrative,  and 
gives  the  general  outline  of  our  Lord's  ministry  in  a  clearer 
form  than  either  the  Gospel  of  Matthew  or  Luke.  It 
sets  Him  before  us  as  He  worked  and  taught  in  the 
living  present,  making  no  mention  of  the  law,  and 
scarcely  ever  quoting  prophecy,  but  aiming  simply  to 
depict  Him  in  that  aspect  of  energetic  and  victorious 
strength  which  was  fitted  to  impress  the"  Roman  mind, 
and  which  is  foreshadowed  by  the  opening  words,  "The 
beginning  of  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  the  Son  of  God."  ^ 

The  following  are  the  passages  peculiar  to  Mark's 
Gospel : — 

The  alarm  of  Jesus'  family  (iii.  21). 

The  seed  growing  secretly  (iv.  26-29). 

The  healing  of  one  deaf  and  dumb  (vii.  32-37). 

The  gradual  healing  of  the  blind  man  (viii.  22-26). 

The  exhortation  to  watch  (xiii.  33-37). 

The  flight  of  the  young  man  (xiv.  51,  52). 

Certain      details     about     the     Lord's      Resurrection 
(xvi.  6- 11). 

In  this  connection  it  may  be  well  to  recall  the  fact  that 
while  Mark's  Gospel  has  a  larger  proportion  of  common 
matter  than  any  of  the  others — amounting  to  no  less  than 
93  per  cent,  of  its  whole  contents — this  is  probably  due, 
not  to  its  having  borrowed  from  the  others,  but  to  its  more 
strict  adherence  to  the  original  cycle  of  oral  teaching 
(Chap.  II.  §  3)-'^ 

xiv.  43:  "  And  straightway,  while  he  yet  ^  Verses  9-20  in  the  last  chapter  are 
spake,  c(?;«f^/?  Judas,  one  of  the  twelve  "  ;  absent  from  some  ancient  MSS.  (see 
cf.  Matt.  xxvi.  47:  "And  while  he  yet  marginal  note,  R.V.).  Their  absence 
spake,_  lo,  Judas,  one  of  the  twelve,  f,-om  N  and  B,  however,  is  largely  dis- 
came."  counted  by  the  fact  that  in  both  MSS. 
1  A  worthy  consummation  is  reached  there  are  traces  of  a  hiatus,  as  if  the 
in  the  closing  verses  (whose  genuine-  passage  had  been  purposely  omitted  in 
ness,  however,  is  disputed — see  follow-  copying  from  a  still  older  MS.  At  the 
ing  note),  viz.,  xvi.  19,  20:  "So  then  same  time,  the  verses  referred  to  differ 
the  Lord  Jesus,  after  he  had  spoken  greatly  in  style  and  language  from  the 
unto  them,  was  received  up  into  heaven,  rest  of  the  book,  and  the  probability  is 
and  sat  down  at  the  right  hand  of  God.  that  they  were  added  by  a  later  hand 
And  they  went  forth,  and  preached  (possibly  with  the  aid  of  an  independent 
everywhere,  the  Lord  working  with  record),  not  long  after  the  publication 
them,  and  confirming  the  word  by  the  of  the  Gospel,  in  order  to  give  a  suit- 
signs  that  followed."  able  close  to  the  narrative. 


CHAPTER    V. 

"  THE   GOSPEL  ACCORDING   TO   ST.    LUKE. 

I.  Authorship. 

The  authorship  of  the  third  Gospel  has  scarcely  ever  been 
disputed.  It  has  uniformly  been  ascribed  to  Luke,  the 
friend  and  companion  of  the  Apostle  Paul. 

A  comparison  of  its  opening  verses  with  the  preface  to 
the  Book  of  Acts,  and  an  examination  of  the  style  and 
structure  of  the  two  books,  leave  no  room  for  doubt  that 
they  were  written  by  one  and  the  same  person.  The 
indications  of  his  personality  afforded  by  certain  passages 
in  the  Book  of  Acts,  where  he  joins  himself  with  Paul 
by  the  use  of  the  first  person  plural  as  if  he  were  in  his 
company  at  the  time — viewed  in  the  light  of  the  informa- 
tion afforded  by  the  Book  of  Acts  and  the  epistles  of  Paul, 
regarding  the  apostle's  personal  associates  and  his  relations 
with  them, — ^justify  us  in  holding  that  the  early  Church 
was  right  in  ascribing  the  authorship  to  Luke.i 

With  regard  to  Luke's  personal  history,  nearly  all  that 
we  know  of  him  is  connected  with  the  apostolic  labours  of 
Paul.  He  is  referred  to  by  that  apostle  as  "  the  beloved 
physician,"  ^  and  it  has  been  suggested  that  it  may  have 
been  owing  to  Paul's  need  of  medical  attendance  that  they 
were  first  brought  into  intimate  relations  with  one 
another.^     Traces    of    Luke's    profession    have   been    dis- 

lAn  examination  of  the  relative  pas-  (Col.  iv.  ii),  whereas  the  tone,  both  of 

sages,  which  are  too  numerous  to  men-  the  third  Gospel   and  of  the   Book  of 

tion,  shows  that  there  are  only  three  of  Acts,  would  lead  us  to  suppose  that  the 

the  apostle's  friends  who  could  have  been  author  w  as  a  Gentile.     The  details  are 

with  him  on  the  occasions  referred  to,  ^w'&cvm.'KwV^?, HorcB ApostoliccB,'^.  351. 

viz.,  Luke,  Jesus   Justus,  and    Demas.  "^QoX.  iv.  14. 

But  Demas  is  disqualified  by  2  Tim.  iv.  ^Acts    xvi.    6-10:    "And    they   went 

io("for  Demasforsookme,  havingloved  through    the   region    of    Phrygia    and 

this  present  world") ;  while  Jesus  Justus  Galatia,  having  been  forbidden  of  the 

is  referred  to  as  "of  the  circumcision"  Holy  Ghost  to  speak  the  word  in  Asia; 

•  D 


50 


New  Testame7it  and  Its  Writers. 


covered  in  the  frequency  with  which  he  refers  to  Christ's 
work  and  that  of  His  apostles  as  a  ministry  of  Jiealing, 
as  well  as    in    the  occasional  use   of  tecJinical  and  other 
forms    of   expression    which    a    physician    was    likely   to 
employ.- 

It  has  been  supposed,  not  without  reason,  that  it  is  Luke 


.  .  .  and  passing  by  Mysia,  they  came 
down  to  Troas.  .  .  .  Straightway  toe 
souglit  to  go  forth  into  Macedonia, 
concluding  that  God  had  called  us 
for  to  preach  the  Gospel  unto  them." 
Cf.  Galatians  iv.  13-15,  "But  ye  know 
that  because  of  an  injirmity  of  the  flesh  I 
preached  the  Gospel  unto  you  the  first 
time.  ..." 

liv.  18  :  "And  recovering  of  sight  to 
the  bUnd"  [cf.  Isa.  Ixi.).  iv.  23:  "And 
he  said  unto  them,  Doubtless  ye  will  say 
unto  me  this  parable.  Physician,  heal 
thyself :  whatsoever  we  have  heard  done 
at  Capernaum,  do  also  here  in  thine  own 
country."  ix.  i:  "And  he  called  the 
twelve  together,  and  gave  them  power 
and  authority  over  all  devils,  and  to  cure 
diseases. "  2  :"  And  he  sent  them  forth  to 
preach  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  to  heal 
the  sick."  6  :  "And  they  departed,  and 
went  throughout  the  villages,  preaching 
the  gospel,  and  healijig  ei'eryiohere." 
X.  9  :  "  And  heal  the  sick  that  are  therein, 
and  say  unto  them,  The  kingdom  of  God 
is  come  nigh  unto  you."  Cf.  xxii.  51, 
which  tells  of  the  healing  of  Malchus' 
ear,  a  fact  unrecorded  by  any  of  the 
three  other  evangelists  in  their  account 
of  the  incident.  There  are  four  other 
miracles  of  healing  peculiar  to  Luke, 
viz.,  the  raising  of  the  widow's  son 
(vii.  11-17),  the  healing  of  the  "woman 
which  had  a  spirit  of  infirmity  eighteen 
years"  (xiii.  10-17),  the  cure  of  a  man 
"  which  had  the  dropsy"  (xiv.  1-6),  and 
the  cleansing  of  the  ten   lepers  (xvii. 

""^9)- 

2iv.  38:  "a  great  fever  ;  v.  12,  "a 
man  full  of  leprosy";  vi.  19,  "power 
came  forth  from  him,  and  healed  them 
all";  xxii.  44,  "his  sweat  became  as 
it  were  great  drops  of  blood  falling  down 
upon  the  ground."  A  token  of  Luke's 
professional  feeling  has  been  found  in 
the  more  measured  terms  he  employs  in 
viii.  43:  "And  a  woman  having  an 
issue  of  blood  twelve  years,  which  had 
spent  all  her  living  upon  physicians, 
and  could  not  be  healed  of  any,"  as 
compared  with  ^L^rk  v.  25  and  26 : 
"And  a  woman,  which  had  an  issue  of 


blood  twelve  years,  and  had  suffered 
many  things  of  many  physicians,  and 
had  spent  all  that  she  had,  and  was 
nothing  bettered,  but  rather  grew 
worse."  But  this  is  a  very  precarious 
inference,  especially  in  view  of  the  entire 
omission  by  Matthew  of  the  allusion  to 
the  failure  of  the  physicians  (ix.  20 : 
"And  behold,  a  woman,  who  had  an 
issue  of  blood  twelve  years  ").  It  would 
be  different  if  we  could  adopt  the  read- 
mg  in  MSS.  A.  and  D.,  which  omits 
the  words  "which  had  spent  all  her 
living  upon  physicians."  Bishop  Alex- 
ander points  out  that  Luke  distinguishes 
between  cases  of  "possession"  and 
diseases  in  the  ordinary  sense  (vi. 
17,  18:  "A  great  number  .  .  .  came 
to  hear  him,  and  to  be  healed  of  their 
diseases  ;  and  they  that  were  troubled 
with  unclean  spirits  were  healed  ").  The 
same  writer  has  some  striking  observa- 
tions on  the  psychological  insight 
apparent  in  the  third  Gospel.  "The 
Gospel  of  the  physician  is  also  the  Gos- 
pel of  the  psychologist  "  [Leading  Ideas 
of  the  Gospels,  pp.  105-118).  A  book 
on  the  Medical  Language  of  St.  Luke 
has  been  written  by  Rev.  W.  K.  Hobart. 
With  regard  to  the  tradition  that  Luke 
was  a  painter,  expressed  in  Rossetti's 
lines 

"  Give  honour  unto  Luke,  evangelist. 
For  he  it  was,  the  ancient  legends  say. 
Who  first  taught  Art  to  fold  her  hands 
and  pray," 

there  is  no  authority  of  any  value  to 
support  it,  although  not  a  few  old  pic- 
tures in  Italy  are  shown  to  the  credulous 
as  the  work  of  Luke.  The  origin  of  the 
legend  seems  to  have  been  due  to  the 
discovery  of  an  inscription  in  the  Cata- 
combs with  reference  to  a  rude  painting 
of  the  Virgin,  which  stated  that  it  was 
"one  of  seven  painted  by  Luca."  But, 
though  "not  written  by  a  painter,  this  is 
yet  a  painter's  Gospel.  From  it  come 
the  favourite  subjects  : — the  Virgin  and 
Child,  Simeon,  the  Scene  with  the 
Doctors  in  the  Temple,  the  Ascension." 
— (Alexander.) 


V.  Si.  Luke.  51 

who  is  referred  to  as  "  the  brother  whose  praise  in  the 
gospel  is  spread  through  all  the  churches  "  ;  1  but  whether 
this  be  so  or  not,  we  have  incontestable  evidence  that  Luke 
was  not  only  a  warm  friend  of  the  apostle,  but  a  valuable 
coadjutor.  In  the  Epistle  to  Philemon,-  which  was  written 
during  Paul's  first  imprisonment  in  Rome,  Luke  is  one  of 
Paul's  "  fellow-workers  "  who  send  greetings,  and"  in  2  Tim- 
othy, which  was  written  during  Paul's  second  imprisonment, 
when  many  of  his  friends  had  forsaken  him,  we  find  the 
brief  but  weighty  statement,  "Only  Luke  is  with  me."^ 

Of  Luke's  nationality  and  of  his  history  previous  to  his 
association  with  the  apostle  we  have  but  scanty  informa- 
tion. From  the  distinction  drawn  between  him  and  those 
"of  the  circumcision"^  it  may  be  inferred  that  he  was  of 
Gentile  extraction  ;  and  this  inference  is  confirmed  by  his 
Greek  name  and  the  character  of  his  style,  which — except 
when  he  is  drawing  from  older  documents  or  reporting 
speeches  conveyed  to  him  by  others — is  more  classical  than 
that  of  the  other  Gospels  in  the  structure  of  the  sentences 
and  the  choice  of  words,  as  well  as  in  the  use  of  an  opening 
dedication,  which  is  a  feature  quite  foreign  to  the  Hebrew 
style.^     According  to  Eusebius  and  Jerome,  who  wrote  in 

1  2  Cor.  viii.  18.     We  have  an  ancient  concerning  those  matters   which   have 

memorial   of  this   belief  in   the  super-  been  fulfilled  among  us,  even  as  they 

scription    at   the   close    of    the   epistle.  delivered   them    unto   us,    which   from 

"The  gospel "  is  here  to  be  taken  in  a  the   beginning   were   eyewitnesses   and 

general   sense,  not  as   referring  to  the  ministers  of  the  word,  it  seemed  good 

Gospel  by  Luke.     It  is  to  be  observed  to  me  also,  having  traced  the  course  of 

that  Paul  never  calls  Luke  "my  son,"  all  things  accurately  from  the  first,  to 

and  we  may  therefore  infer  that  he  was  write  unto  thee  in  order,  most  excellent 

not    one     of    the    apostle's     converts.  Theophilus ;   that  thou  mightest  know 

Tradition  has  represented  him  as  one  the    certainty    concerning    the    things 

of  the  Seventy  whose  mission  he  records  wherein    thou  wast  instructed."      The 

(chap.  .X.);  and  it  has  been  suggested  Clementine  Recognitions   (end   of   2nd 

that  he  may  have  been  one  of  the  two  century)    represent    Theophilus    as    a 

disciples   (the   name   of    the    other    he  wealthy  citizen  of  Antioch,   who  gave 

mentions,  viz.,  Cleopas)  whose  journey  up  the  use  of  his  house  for  the  preach- 

with  the   Risen    Lord   to   Emmaus  he  ing   of   Peter.     It  has  been   suggested 

narrates  so  fully  in  chap.  xxiv.    Possibly  that  Luke  may  have  been  his  freedman 

he  may  have  been   one  of  the  Greeks  — the   termination    of   the    evangelist's 

referred   to    in    John    xii.    20-23,    who  name  ( Ao was  contracted  from  Aou/cacos) 

desired  to  see  Jesus  "at  the  feast."  being  a  common  one  with  slaves.     This 

-ver.  24.  supposition    is    quite    consistent    with 

^2  Tim.  iv.  II.  Luke's  profession,  as  slaves  and  freed- 

*Col.  iv.  II,  14.  men  were  frequently  men  of  education 

^  i.  1-4:   "Forasmuch  as  many  have  and  accomplishments.      We  have  evi- 

taken  in  hand  to  draw  up  a  narrative  dence  of  the  Gentile  destination  of  this 


52 


New  Testament  and  Its  Writers. 


V. 


the  fourth  century,  Luke  was  a  native  of  Antioch  in 
Syria.  Of  this  we  seem  to  have  confirmation  in  the  full 
account  he  gives  of  the  Church  at  Antioch,^  and  also  in  his 
description  of  Nicolas  as  "  a  proselyte  of  Antioch."  - 

While  tradition  has  always  ascribed  the  third  Gospel 
to  Luke,  it  has  assigned  to  Paul  a  somewhat  similar  part 
in  its  production  to  that  which  Peter  bore  in  relation  to 
the  Gospel  of  Mark.^  Such  a  connection  is  rendered 
probable  both  by  what  we  know  of  the  relations  between 
Paul  and  Luke,  and  by  the  character  of  the  Gospel  itself, 
which  is  so  liberal  and  philanthropic  in  its  tone  as  to 
form  an  excellent  historic  groundwork  for  the  doctrine  of 
salvation  by  grace  through  faith,  that  was  characteristic  of 
Paul's  preaching  (see  §  3).*     There  is  also  a  striking  simi- 


Gospel  in  the  following  explanations 
and  allusions  : — i.  26  :  "A  city  of  Gali- 
lee, named  Nazareth";  ii.  2:  "When 
Quirinius  was  governor  of  Syria";  iii. 
I  :  "In  the  fifteenth  year  of  the  reign 
of  Tiberius  Caesar";  iv.  31  :  "Caper- 
naum, a  city  of  Galilee";  xxi.  37: 
"The  mount  that  is  called  the  mount 
of  Olives";  xxii.  i.  :  "The  feast  of 
unleavened  bread  drew  nigh,  which  is 
called  the  Passover." 

1  Acts  xi.-xv. 

-  Acts  vi.  5.  A  parallel  has  been 
drawn  between  this  circumstance  and 
the  mention  made  by  two  Scottish 
authors  alone  (Scott  and  Alison), — 
out  of  eight  writers  who  give  an  account 
of  Napoleon's  Russian  campaign, — of 
the  fact  that  General  Barclay  de  Tolly 
was  of  Scottish  extraction.  There  is  a 
reading  in  Codex  Bezae  (D),  accepted 
by  Augustine,  which  lends  still  greater 
probability  to  Luke's  connection  with 
Antioch.  In  Acts  xi.,  after  verse  27  : 
"Now  in  these  days  there  came  down 
prophets  from  Jerusalem  unto  Antioch," 
there  occur  the  words,  "And  there  was 
great  rejoicing ;  and  when  we  were 
gathered  together."  Ewald  suggests 
that  this  reading  may  have  given  rise  to 
the  tradition,  which  we  cannot  trace  to 
any  earlier  writer  than  Eusebius ;  and  it 
is  probably  due  to  a  Syriac  gloss  assimi- 
lating the  passage  to  xx.  7,  8. 

s  We  can  trace  the  tradition  as  far 
back  as  Irenasus,  who  tells  us  that 
"  Luke  the  follower  of  Paul  set  down 
in   a    book    the    Gospel    preached    by 


him."  At  a  later  time  Paul's  allusions 
to  "my  Gospel"  (Rom.  ii.  16,  &c.) 
were  understood  to  refer  to  the  com- 
pilation which  Luke  had  made  under 
the  apostle's  direction. 

•*  This  is  the  element  of  truth  lying  at 
the  bottom  of  the  Ttibingen  theory, 
which  represents  the  third  Gospel  as  an 
attempt  to  magnify  Paul  at  the  expense 
of  the  Judaizers.  If  the  writer  had 
been  thus  swayed  by  party  spirit,  he 
would  scarcely  have  brought  into  pro- 
minence such  Jewish  features  and  inci- 
dents in  our  Lord's  history  as  we  find 
in  chapters  i.,  ii.  (scenes  in  the  temple); 
i.  32,  33  :  "  He  shall  be  great,  and  shall 
be  called  the  Son  of  the  Most  High  : 
and  the  Lord  God  shall  give  unto  him 
the  throne  of  his  father  David  :  and  he 
shall  reign  over  the  house  of  Jacob  for 
ever  ;  and  of  his  kingdom  there  shall 
be  no  end  "  ;  xviii.  38  :  "And  he  cried, 
saying,  Jesus,  thou  son  of  David,  have 
mercy  on  me";  xiii.  16:  "And  ought 
not  this  woman,  being  a  daughter  of 
Abraham,  whom  Satan  had  bound,  lo, 
these  eighteen  years,  to  have  been 
loosed  from  this  bond  on  the  day  of  the 
sabbath?";  xix.  9:  "And  Jesus  said 
unto  him.  To-day  is  salvation  come  to 
this  house,  forasmuch  as  he  also  is  a 
son  of  Abraham  "  ;  xxiv.  44  :  "And  he 
said  unto  them.  These  are  my  words 
which  I  spake  unto  you,  while  I  was 
yet  with  you,  how  that  all  things  must 
needs  be  fulfilled,  which  are  written  in 
the  law  of  Moses,  and  the  prophets, 
and  the  psalms,  concerning  me  "  ;  xxiv. 


V. 


S^.  Luke. 


53 


larity  between  the  words  attributed  to  our  Lord  in  the 
institution  of  the  Supper  and  those  in  i  Corinthians  (Luke 
having  doubtless  often  heard  Paul  use  the  words  in  the 
celebration  of  the  Sacrament)/  as  well  as  in  the  accounts 
which  the  two  books  give  of  our  Lord's  appearances  after 
His  Resurrection?  The  duty  oi prayer'^  and  the  influence 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,^  which  figure  so  largely  in  this  Gospel, 
are  also  characteristic  of  Paul's  writings  ;  and  there  are 
certain  forms  of  expression  which  are  common  to  them 
both,  e.g.  a  threefold  classification  of  ideas:' 

From  his  preface  we  learn  that  it  was  Luke's  object  to 


52,  53:  "And  they  worshipped  him, 
and  returned  to  Jerusalem  with  great 
joy  :  and  were  continually  in  the  temple, 
blessing  God." 

1  xxii.  19,  20:  "And  he  took  bread, 
and  when  he  had  given  thanks,  he 
brake  it,  and  gave  to  them,  saying. 
This  is  my  body  which  is  given  for 
you  :  this  do  in  remembrance  of  me. 
And  the  cup  in  like  manner  after 
supper,  saying,  This  cup  is  the  new 
covenant  in  my  blood,  even  that  which 
is  poured  out  for  you."  i  Cor.  xi. 
24,  25:  "And  when  he  had  given 
thanks,  he  brake  it,  and  said,  This  is 
my  body,  which  is  for  you :  this  do  in 
remembrance  of  me.  In  like  manner 
also  the  cup,  after  supper,  saying. 
This  cup  is  the  new  covenant  in  my 
blood  :  this  do,  as  oft  as  ye  drink  it, 
in  remembrance  of  me."  The  expres- 
sion, "  Do  this  in  remembrance  of  me," 
which  is  found  in  both  of  the  foregoing, 
is  absent  from  Matthew  (xxvi.  26-29)  ^"d 
Mark  (xiv.  22-25).  I"  'he  two  latter, 
also,  we  find,  "This  is  my  blood  of  the 
covenant,"  instead  of  "This  cup  is  the 
new  covenant  in  my  blood,"  which  is 
common  to  Paul  and  Luke.  Again,  in 
Matthew  and  Mark  it  is  said  that  Jesus 
"took  bread  and  blessed  it"  (ei)Xo777- 
<ras),  and  "took  a  cup  and  gave 
thanks"  (eiyxa/nffTTjcras),  while  according 
to  Paul  and  Luke,  "  He  took  bread  and 
gave  thanks"  {euxap'CTTjcras). 

2  xxiv.  ;  I  Cor.  xv.  1-7.  In  particu- 
lar, cf.  xxiv.  34 :  "  The  Lord  is  risen 
indeed,  and  hath  appeared  to  Simon  "  ; 
and  I  Cor.  xv.  5:  "He  appeared  to 
Cephas." 

3  See  p.  56. 

■*  Mentioned  four  times  in  the  first 
chapter — viz.,  at  vers.  15,  35,  41,  67. 


•5  XV.  3,  8,  II — Parables  of  the  lost 
sheep,  the  lost  coin,  and  the  lost  son,  cf. 
Matt,  xviii.  12  (the  sheep  gone  astray) ; 
ix.  57-62  (the  three  would-be  followers 
of  Christ),  cf.  Matt.  viii.  19-22,  which 
mentions  only  hvo ;  xi.  11-12,  "... 
loaf  .  .  .  fish  .  .  .  egg,"  cf.  Matt.  vii. 
9,  10,  "  .  ,  .  bread  .  .  .  fish"; 
I  Cor.  xiii.  13,  "But  now  abideth  faith, 
hope,  love,  .these  three";  Eph.  iv. 
4-6,  "There  is  one  body,  and  one  Spirit, 
even  as  also  ye  were  called  in  one 
hope  of  your  calling ;  one  Lord,  one 
faith,  one  baptism,  one  God  and  Father 
of  all,  who  is  over  all,  and  through  all, 
and  in  all. " — ( The  Four  Evangelists,  by 
Rev.  E.  Thomson,  p.  104.)  Many 
other  traces  of  the  Pauline  association 
and  influence  have  been  discovered 
in  the  language  of  the  Gospel,  e.g., 
iv.  22:  "words  of  grace,"  cf.  Col. 
iv.  6 :  "  Let  your  speech  be  always 
with  grace."  vi.  36:  "Be  ye  merci- 
ful, even  as  your  Father  is  merciful," 
cf.  2  Cor.  i.  3:  "The  Father  of 
mercies  and  God  of  all  comfort "  ;  vi. 
39  :  "  Can  the  blind  guide  the  blind,"  cf. 
Rom.  ii.  19:  "A  guide  of  the  blind"; 
X.  8:  "Eat  such  things  as  are  set  be- 
fore you,"  cf.  I  Cor.  x.  27:  "What- 
soever is  set  before  you,  eat "  ;  xi.  41 : 
"And  behold,  all  thmgs  are  clean  unto 
you,"  cf.  Titus  i.  15:  "To  the  pure 
all  things  are  pure";  xxi.  36:  "But 
watch  ye  at  every  season,  making  sup- 
plication," r/".  Eph.  vi.  18:  "With  all 
prayer  and  supplication  praying  at  all 
seasons  in  the  Spirit,  and  watching 
thereunto."  A  resemblance  has  also 
been  found  between  the  language  of 
this  Gospel  and  that  of  the  Ei)istle  to 
the  Hebrews — due  doubtless  to  the 
latter  having  also  been  written  by  a 
friend  and  associate  of  Paul's. 


54  New  Testament  and  Its  Writers.  v. 

draw  up  in  as  complete  and  consecutive  a  form  as  possible 
an  account  of  the  main  facts  regarding  Christ's  person  and 
work,  by  reference  to  the  most  authentic  and  reliable 
sources  of  information.  His  missionary  travels  with  Paul 
would  afford  excellent  opportunities  for  collecting  such 
information.  In  particular,  the  two  years  which  he  seems 
to  have  spent  in  Caesarea  during  Paul's  detention  by  Felix, 
where  he  was  within  two  days'  journey  of  the  shores  of 
Lake  Gennesaret,  the  scene  of  many  incidents  in  our 
Lord's  ministry,  would  enable  him  to  obtain  at  first  hand, 
from  brethren  who  had  been  eye-witnesses,  many  of  those 
narratives  which  are  only  to  be  found  in  this  Gospel.^ 
His  high  Christian  character  gave  him  a  moral  fitness 
for  the  work,  while  his  culture  and  the  love  of  accuracy 
manifest  in  his  historical  and  topographical  allusions,"' 
marked  him  out  as  a  suitable  instrument  in  the  hands 
of  Providence  for  writing  the  Gospel  story  in  a  form  as 
well  adapted  for  the  philosophical  Greeks  as  Matthew's 
Gospel  was  to  be  for  the  theocratic  Jews  and  Mark's 
for  the  practical  Romans.^ 

2.  Date  of  Composition. 

The  date  of  its  composition  is  uncertain.  It  may  have 
been  as  early  as  60  A.D.,  at  the  close  of  the  two  years 
which  Luke  spent  with  Paul  at  Csesarea ;  or  it  may 
possibly  have  been  during  Paul's  imprisonment  at  Rome, 

1  No  doubt  sometimes  delivered  orally  even  in  a  wreck,  was  able  to  observe 

and  sometimes  in  the  form  of  a  written  and    record    with    such    demonstrated 

narrative,  as  indicated  in  i.  i.     Hence  accuracy  the   incidents   of  his   adven- 

the  contrast  between  the  Aramaic  style  ture,  must  be  worthy  of  credit  in  any 

of   the   Gospel    generally   (and   of   the  case   in  which    he   pledges  himself  to 

earlier  part  of  the  Book  of  Acts)  and  have    carefully   investigated    the   facts 

the  classical  Greek  of  Luke's  own  open-  that  he  records  as  true." 

ing    dedication.      His    informant   with  ^  Jerome  tells  us  that  Luke  wrote  the 

regard    to    the    Saviour's    infancy   and  Gospel   for    the    Greeks,    and    that   he 

childhood  may  have  been  no  other  than  composed  his  volume  in  the  regions  of 

Mary  herself.  Achaia  and  Boeotia.     He  also  mentions 

'■^  e.g.   in  giving  dates  (ii.   2,  iii.   1-3)  that    Luke's    remains   were    buried    at 

and   in   the  mention   of  our  Saviour's  Constantinople,  having   been   removed 

age  when  He  began  His  public  ministry  thither,  along  with  those  of  the  Apostle 

(iii.  23).     But  see  p.  80  (on  the  Book  of  Andrew,   in   the  twentieth  year  of  the 

Acts):    "  The  man  who  in  the  anxiety  reign  of  Constantius. 
and  weariness  of  a  tempestuous  voyage, 


V.  S^.  Liike.  55 

61-63  A.D.,  or  even  some  years  later  ;  but  in  any  case 
anterior  to  the  Book  of  Acts,  as  the  preface  to  the  latter 
implies.^ 

3.   Character  aitd  Contents. 

If  St.  Matthew's  Gospel  may  be  styled  the  Messianic 
Gospel  and  St.  Mark's  the  realistic  Gospel,  St.  Luke's 
may  be  fitly  described  as  the  catholic  Gospel  —  fore- 
shadowing the  expansion  of  God's  kingdom  in  the  future 
as  the  first  Gospel  reflects  its  history  in  the  past,  and 
the  second  describes  its  energy  in  the  present.  It  is  not 
only  more  comprehensive  in  its  range,  beginning  with  the 
birth  of  the  Forerunner  and  ending  with  an  account  of 
the  Ascension,"  but  it  also  brings  out  more  fully  the 
breadth  of  Christ's  sympathy  and  the  fulness  and  free- 
ness  of  His  love.  In  illustration  of  this  we  may  note 
the  following  points:  (i)  The  Gospel  of  Luke  traces 
Christ's  genealogy,  not,  as  Matthew's  does,  by  the  legal  line 
to  Abraham,  the  head  of  the  Jews,  but  by  the  natural  line  to 
Adam,  the  head  of  humanity, — forming  thus  a  fit  introduc- 
tion to  the  life  of  Him  who  was  to  be  the  Kinsman- 
Redeemer  of  the  whole  human  family.^  (2)  It  exhibits 
more  clearly  the  reality  of  Christ's  Jiunianity  in  the  various 


1  The    broad    distinction    which    St  and  setting.     Besides,  if  Luke's  Gospel 

Luke  makes  (alone  of  the  evangelists)  had    been    written    considerably   later 

between  the  approaching  destruction  of  than  the  two  other  Synoptics,  it  could 

Jerusalem   and   the   end  of  the  world  scarcely  have  failed  to  afford  evidence 

{e.g.     "Jerusalem     shall     be     trodden  of  the  writer's  accjuaintance  with  them, 
down  of  the  Gentiles,  until  the  times  of  ^  jsjo  information  is  given  with  regard 

the  Gentiles  be  fulfilled,"  xxi.  24)  has  to  either  of  these  events  in  any  of  the 

led    many  to  assign    to  this  Gospel  a  other  Gospels,  except  the  bare  allusion 

date  subsecjuent  to  70  A.D.     But  in  the  to  the  Ascension  in  the  disputed  passage 

midst  of  the  allusions  to  national  disaster  of  ^Lark  (xvi.  19):   "  So  then  the  Lord 

there  occur  words  of  far  larger  import  Jesus,  after  he  had  spoken  unto  them, 

{e.g.   xxi.    27:    "And    then    shall   they  was  received  up  into  heaven,   and  sat 

see  the  Son  of  man  coming  in  a  cloud  down  at  the  right  hand  of  God." 
with  power  and  great  glory").     Luke's  ^  iii.  38  :   "...  the  son  of  Adam,  the 

express  object  was  to  write  "  in  order  "  ;  son  of  God";    Matt.  i.   i:    "...  the 

and   in  his  greater  clearness  and  pre-  son   of   David,  the  son  of  Abraham." 

cision  on  this  subject  as  compared  with  Cf.   ii.  30,  31:   "Thy  salvation,  which 

St   Matthew  we  may  reasonably  hold  thou  hast  prepared   before  the  face  of 

that  we  have  only  another  illustration  all  peoples."    iii.  6  :   "  And  all  flesh  shall 

of  the   fact    already   referred    to,  that  see   the   salvation  of  God " — a  part  of 

while  Matthew  combines  words  uttered  Isaiah's  prophecy  (chap,  xl.)  not  quoted 

on    several    different    occasions,    Luke  by  Matthew  (iii.  3)  or  Mark  (i.  3). 
Reports  them  in  their  individual  form 


56  New  Testament  and  Its  Writers.  v. 

stages  of  human  life,^  and  brings  into  special  prominence 
His  dependence  upon  God  in  the  great  crises  of  His 
life,  when  He  had  recourse  to  Him  in  prayer^-  while 
it  inculcates  earnestness  in  prayer  by  two  parables 
peculiar  to  itself.^  (3)  In  keeping  with  this  view  of  it  as 
the  gospel  of  humanity,  we  find  that  it  represents  Christ's 
teaching  not  so  much  in  its  theocratic  as  in  its  hitman 
aspects  —  its  usual  formula  in  the  introduction  of  a 
parable  being  not  "  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  like,"  as 
in  Matthew's,  but  "  a  certain  man  made  a  great  supper," 
"  a  certain  man  had  two  sons,"  &c.^  (4)  It  represents 
Christ  as  far-reacJmig  in  His  sympathies,  full  of  com- 
passion for  the  poor,  the  weak,  the  suffering,  and  ready 
to  forgive  the  chief  of  sinners.  It  is  in  this  Gospel  we 
find  the  parables  of  The  Rich  Man  and  Lazarus,  The 
Pharisee  and  Publican,  the  Prodigal  Son,  and  the  two 
Debtors.^  It  is  here  we  find  a  record  of  Christ's  visit  to  the 
house  of  Zacchaeus  the  publican,  of  His  gracious  reception 
of  the  woman  that  was  a  sinner,  of  His  prayer  for  Hi^ 
murderers,  and  of  His  promise  of  Paradise  to  the  penitent 
malefactor.''  It  is  here  we  find  the  touching  story  of  the 
raising  to  life  of  the  young  man  at  the  gate  of  Nain,''  who 
was  "  the  only  son  of  his  mother,  and  .she  was  a  widow  " ; 
it  is  here  we  are  told  that  Jairus'  daughter,  whom  Christ 
restored  to  life,  was  an  "  only  daughter "  ;  ^  it  is  here  we 
learn  that  the  demoniac  boy  whom  He  healed  at  the  foot 

1  ii.    4-7    (His    birth);    21    (circum-  2  ;;;_  21  (at  His  baptism);  vi.   12,  13 

cision);  22  (presentation  in  the  temple) ;  (before  choosing  His  apostles);  ix.  28, 

40   (childhood,   "and   the  child   grew,  29  (at   His  transfiguration);    xxiii.   34, 

and  waxed  strong,  filled  with  wisdom  ") ;  46  (prayer  for  His  murderers,  and  com- 

42  (first  Passover  as  a  son  of  the  Law) ;  mending  of  His  spirit  into  His  Father's 

51    (submission    to    parents,    "he  was  hands). 

subject  unto  them");   52  ("Jesus  ad-  ^  xi.  5-13  (the  appeal  to  friend  at  mid- 

vanced  in  wisdom  and  stature,  and  in  night) ;     xviii.     1-8     (the     importunate 

favour  with  God   and   men  ")  ;   iii.    23  widow), 

(full  maturity,  "and  Jesus  himself,  when  '^  xiv.  16;  xv.  11,  &c. 

he  began   to   teach,    was   about   thirty  5  xvi.  19;  xviii.  9  ;  xv.  11;   vii.  41-43 

years  of  age").     But  for  Luke  the  first  6  xix,  i  ;  vii.  37  ;  xxiii,  43. 

thirty  years  of  our  Lord's  life  would  be  ''  vii.  11. 

an  entire  blank — with  the  exception  of  8  yiii.  42. 
the  incidents  of  His  infancy  recorded 
by  Matthew. 


V. 


S^.  Ltike. 


57 


of  the  Mount  of  Transfiguration  was  an  "  only  child."  ^ 
(5)  It  is  the  Gospel  of  toleration  and  large- Jieartedness, 
embracing  within  the  range  of  its  sympathy  the  Samari- 
tan,''- the  Gentile'^  the  poor^  the  very  young, — this  being 
the  only  Gospel  that  tells  us  that  the  children  brought 
to  Jesus  were  "babes  "  ^ — and  the  zveaker,  and  up  to  that 
time  less-hononred,  sex.^ 


1  ix.  38. 

2  X.  25-37  (the  story  of  the  Good 
Samaritan);  ix.  51-55:  "And  it  came 
to  pass,  when  the  days  were  weLl-nigli 
come  that  he  should  be  received  up,  he 
steadfastly  set  his  face  to  go  to  Jeru- 
salem, and  sent  messengers  before  his 
face  :  and  they  went,  and  entered  into  a 
village  of  the  Samaritans,  to  make  ready 
for  him.  And  they  did  not  receive  him, 
because  his  face  was  as  though  he  were 
going  to  Jerusalem.  And  when  his 
disciples  James  and  John  saw  this,  they 
said.  Lord,  wilt  thou  that  we  bid  fire  to 
come  down  from  heaven,  and  consume 
the^?  But  he  turned,  and  rebuked 
them";  xvii.  11-19  (Cleansing  of  the 
tai  lepers,  only  one  of  whom  gave 
tl^anks,  "  and  he  was  a  Samaritan  "). 

3  iv.  25-27:  "But  of  a  truth  I  say 
unto  you,  There  were  many  widows  in 
Israel  in  the  days  of  Elijah,  when  the 
heaven  was  shut  up  three  years  and  six 
months,  when  there  came  a  great  famine 
over  all  the  land  ;  and  unto  none  of 
them  was  Elijah  sent,  but  only  to  Zare- 
phath,  in  the  land  of  Sidon,  unto  a 
woman  that  was  a  widow.  And  there 
were  many  lepers  in  Israel  in  the  time 
of  Elisha  the  prophet ;  and  none  of  them 
was  cleansed,  but  only  Naaman  the 
Syrian."  xiii.  28,  29  :  "  There  shall  be 
the  weeping  and  gnashing  of  teeth,  when 
ye  shall  see  Abraham,  and  Isaac,  and 
Jacob,  and  all  the  prophets,  in  the 
kingdom  of  God,  and  yourselves  cast 
forth  without.  And  they  shall  come  from 
the  east  and  west,  and  from  the  north 
and  south,  and  shall  sit  down  in  the 
kingdom  of  God." 

•*  ii.  7:  ".  .  .  and  laid  him  in  a 
manger,  because  there  was  no  room 
for  them  in  the  inn."  8-12:  "And 
there  were  shepherds  in  the  same 
country  abiding  in  the  field,  and  keeping 
watch  by  night  over  their  flock.  And 
an  angel  of  the  Lord  stood  by  them, 
and  the  glory  of  the  Lord  shone  round 


about  them  :  and  they  were  sore  afraid. 
And  the  angel  said  unto  them.  Be  not 
afraid;  for  behold,  I  bring  you  good 
tidings  of  great  joy  which  shall  be 
to  all  the  people  :  for  there  is  born  to 
you  this  day  in  the  city  of  David  a 
Saviour,  which  is  Christ  the  Lord.  And 
this  is  the  sign  unto  you ;  Ye  shall 
find  a  babe  wrapped  in  swaddling 
clothes,  and  lying  in  a  manger."  22,  24  ; 
"They  brought  him  up  to  Jerusalem, 
to  present  him  to  the  Lord,  and  to 
offer  a  sacrifice  according  to  that  which 
is  said  in  the  law  of  the  Lord,  A  pair 
of  turtledoves,  or  two  young  pigeons." 
vi.  20  :  "  Blessed  are  ye  poor."  ix.  58  : 
' '  The  Son  of  man  hath  not  where  to 
lay  his  head."  .xiv.  21  :  "...  Go  out 
quickly  into  the  streets  and  lanes  of 
the  city,  and  bring  in  hither  the  poor 
and  maimed  and  blind  and  lame." 

5  xviii.  15,  R.V. 

6  i.  (Concerning  Mary  and  Elisabeth) ; 
ii.  36-38  (concerning  Anna  the  pro- 
phetess) ;  viii.  1-3  (concerning  Mary 
Magdalene,  Joanna  and  Susanna,  and  ■ 
"many  other  women  which  ministered 
unto  them  {i.e.  Christ  and  His  disciples) 
of  their  substance  "  ;  x.  38-42  (concerning 
Martha  and  Mary) ;  xxiii.  27,  28 
"...  Daughters  of  Jerusalem,  weep  not 
for  me,  but  weep  for  yourselves,  and 
for  your  children."  "  The  Teacher  who 
included  in  his  church  the  humble,  the 
distressed,  and  the  repentant,  is  attended 
by  the  weak  and  loving  rather  than  by 
a  council  of  Elders,  a  band  of  Warriors, 
or  a  school  of  Prophets "  (Westcott). 
It  is  significant  in  this  connection  to  find 
that  Marcion  (as  Epiphanius  tells  us) 
had  inserted  in  the  account  of  Christ's 
trial  before  Pilate  in  his  Gospel  of 
Luke,  the  words  /cat  diroaTpecpoin-a  ras 
yvvalKas  Kal  rd  reKva  ("and  turning 
away  the  women  and  children  ")  as  jiart 
of  the  accusation  brought  against  Him 
by  the  Jews. 


58  New  Testament  and  Its  Writers.  v. 

It  is  no  accident,  therefore,  that  the  words  "  Saviour," 
"salvation,"  "grace,"  occur  more  frequently  in  this  than 
in  any  other  Gospel ;  Mt  is  no  accident  that  it  represents 
the  Saviour's  birth  as   heralded  by   angels   to  shepherds 
watching    their    flocks    by    night,"    and    His    ministry   as 
opening    in     a    despised     village    of    Galilee    with    the 
gracious  words  of  the  evangelic  prophet,  "  The  spirit  of 
the  Lord  is  upon  me,  because  he  anointed  me  to  preach 
good  tidings  to  the  poor  "  ;  ^  it  is  no  accident  that  as  its  first 
chapters  resound  with  the  voice  of  praise  and  thanksgiving 
for  the  birth  of  the  Saviour,  its  closing  verses  tell  of  the 
disciples'   joy   as   they    returned    to   Jerusalem   with   the 
blessing  of  the  Ascended  Saviour  resting  on  their  heads, 
to  be  "continually  in  the  temple,  blessing  God": — it  is 
because  this    Gospel  from    first   to    last    tells    the  "  good 
tidings  of  great  joy  which  shall  be  to  all  the  people,"* 
and  proclaims  a  Saviour  who  is  to  be  "  a  light  for  revela- 
tion  to    the    Gentiles    and    the    glory   of    (Thy   people) 
Israel  "  ^ — in  whose  name  "  repentance  and   remission   of 
sins   should    be    preached   unto    all   the    nations,    begin- 
ning from  Jerusalem."  ^    Luke  is  indeed  the  most  evangelical 
of  all  the  evangelists,  and  as  such  he  has  fitly   preserved 
for   us  the  first  precious  germs   of  Christian  hymnology, 
which,  after  eighteen  centuries,  are  still  prized  as  an  aid 
to  worship  by  almost  all  sections  of  the  Christian  Church, 
viz.,  the  Magnificat,  the  Benedictus,  the  Gloria  in  Excelsis, 
and  the  Nunc  Dimittis.^ 


1  None     of     these     words     (ffwrrip,  ^  n.  32  (Simeon's  prophecy). 

ffi^T-qpia,    xap«)   '^  found   in  either   of  "  xxiv.    47   (words    spoken  by  Christ 

the  other  Synoptics.      The  first  occurs  before  His  ascension), 

twice  in  Luke,  once  in  John  ;  the  second  '  >•  46-55  ("  And  Mary  sRid— My  sou/ 

four  times  in  Luke,  once  in  John  ;  the  ^o//i  vmpiify  the  Lord,    &c.) ;  1.  67-79 

third   eight   times   in   Luke,   and  three  ("Zachanas  .  .  .  prophesied,     saymg 

times  in  John  Blessed     be     the     Lord,     the     God    of 

2ii.    8-14.    "The   ministry   of    angels  Israel,"    &c.;  ii.    13;    "And   suddenly 

both  to  Christ  and  to  His  people  is  more  there  was  with  the  angel   a   multitude 

prominent   in   this   than   in   any  other  of    the    heavenly    host    praising    God, 

Gospel;    the  same  feature  is  noticeable  and  saying,  Glory  to  God  i7i  the  highest, 

in  the  Book  of  Acts,  in  which  angels  are  &c.;  ii.  28-32,    '  he  (Simeon)    recei^ved 

mentioned  twenty-two  times.  him  into  his   arms,   and  blessed  God, 

3  iv.  18  (at  Nazareth).  ^"d  said,  Novj  lettest  thou  thy  servant 

■lii.'  10   (the   angel's  message  to  the  depart,  O  Lord,"  &c. 
shepherds). 


V.  SL  Luke.  59 

It  adds  to  the  importance  of  this  Gospel,  styled  by 
Renan  "  the  most  beautiful  book  in  the  world,"  that  about 
one-third  of  its  contents  is  peculiar  to  itself, — consisting 
mainly  of  chapters  ix.  51-xviii.  14,  relating  to  the  Saviour's 
last  journey  to  Jerusalem. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

"THE  GOSPEL  ACCORDING   TO  ST.  JOHN." 

I.  Authorship. 

It  is  a  weighty  and  significant  fact  that  until  the  close  of 
the  last  century  the  Johannine  authorship  of  the  fourth 
Gospel  was  never  seriously  challenged.  Epiphanius, 
indeed  (380  A.D.),  tells  us  of  a  very  small  party  ^  who 
had  ascribed  it  to  Cerinthus,  a  heretical  contemporary 
of  the  Apostle  John  at  Ephesus  ;  but  they  seem  to 
have  had  no  other  reason  for  rejecting  it  than  their 
aversion  to  its  teaching.  During  the  present  century  no 
question  has  been  the  .subject  of  more  controversy;  and 
scarcely  any  can  be  of  more  importance,  considering  its 
close  bearing  on  the  doctrinal  aspects  of  Christianity,  and 
especially  on  the  divinity  of  Jesus  Christ.^ 

1  Nicknamed  by  Epiphanius  the  2  fhe  question  was  raised  by  Evan- 
Alogi{^' KKo-^oi,  irrational),  as  denying  son  in  his  Dissonance  of  the  Evangelists 
the  Logos  (Word  or  Reason)  of  John  in  1792 ;  and  the  case  against  the 
i.  and  Rev.  xix.  13,  the  latter  book  Gospel  was  elaborately  stated  by  Bret- 
being  also  rejected  by  them.  A  few  Schneider  in  his  Frobabilia  in  1820. 
such  heretics  are  vaguely  referred  to  This  negative  view  has  been  maintained 
by  Irenasus.  As  Cerinthus  lived  at  by  Strauss,  Weisse,  Baur,  Zeller, 
Ephesus  in  the  end  of  the  ist  century,  Schwegler,  Volkmar,  Keim,  Scholten, 
the  ascription  of  the  Gospel  to  him  in  Hilgenfeld — but  with  a  growing  tend- 
the  next  century  by  those  who  were  ency  of  recent  years  to  push  back  the 
opposed  to  its  teaching  is  so  far  a  date  to  the  early  part  of  the  2nd  cen- 
refutation  of  Baur's  theory  that  it  was  tury.  In  the  progress  of  the  contro- 
written  so  late  as  about  170  A. D.  As  versy  there  has  been  a  frequent  shifting 
many  other  sects  would  have  found  it  of  ground  on  the  part  of  those  wha 
equally  convenient,  for  doctrinal  pur-  deny  the  genuineness  of  the  Gospel — 
poses,  to  call  in  question  the  authority  owing  partly  to  the  discovery  of  ancient 
of  the  Fourth  Gospel,  the  fact  that  this  documents  which  testify  against  them 
course  was  so  seldom  resorted  to  shows  [e-g-,  Tatian's  Diatessaron,  and  Hippo- 
how  firmly  established  the  Gospel  was  lytus'  Reftitation  of  Heresies),  partly  to 
in  the  general  estimation  of  the  Church.  the  collapse  of  some  of  their  arguments 
To  this  we  may  add,  that  the  absence  (such  as  that  relating  to  the  Quarto- 
of  any  reference  in  this  Gospel  to  the  deciman  controversy,  which  has  been 
subjects  of  controversy  in  the  2nd  proved  by  Schiirer  and  others  to  rest 
century  is  a  strong  confirmation  of  its  on  a  misconception  of  the  Paschal 
apostolic  origin.  reckoning  in  the  Eastern  Church,  and 


VI.  St.  John.  6 1 

To  a  large  extent  the  question  is  overtaken  by  the 
line  of  evidence  already  indicated  in  connection  with  the 
Gospels  as  a  whole  (Chap.  II.  §  2).  Although  not  quoted 
by  name  till  late  in  the  2nd  century,^  the  external  evidence 
for  this  Gospel  is  in  some  respects  stronger  than  for 
any  of  the  others.  It  is  specially  quoted  by  such  early 
Gnostic  writers  as  Basilides  (125  A.D.),  Valentinus  (145  a.d., 
whose  favourite  phrases  were  borrowed  from  its  opening 
verses),  and  Heracleon  (a  disciple  of  Valentinus),  who  wrote 
a  commentary  on  it — being  the  first  known  commentary 
on  any  part  of  the  New  Testament-  It  has  also  to 
be  borne  in  mind  that  John  himself  survived  till  near 
the  close  of  the  first  century,  so  that  a  comparatively 
short  interval  was  left  between  his  death  and  the 
time  when  the  four  Gospels  are  known  to  have  been 
universally  accepted  by  the  Church  (185  a.d.).  For 
this  interval  it  so  happens  that,  apart  from  the  Gnostic 
testimony  already  adduced,  we  have  a  direct  chain 
of  testimony  consisting  of  a  very  few  strong  and  well- 
connected  links.  At  the  lower  end  of  the  chain  we 
have  Irenaeus,  one  of  the  most  important  witnesses  to  the 
general  reception  of  the  four  Gospels  towards  the  close  of 

that  referring  to  the  Saviour's  occa-  selves  and  of  their  followers.  But  in 
sional  visits  to  Jerusalem,  which  they  some  cases  this  objection  is  quite  un- 
regarded as  an  invention  of  the  Fourth  tenable,  e.g.  vii.  22  :  And  this,  he  says, 
Gospel  but  which  have  been  shown  to  is  what  is  said  in  the  Gospels  :  ' '  There 
be  in  themselves  probable  and  in  keep-  was  the  true  light,  even  the  light  which 
ing  with  many  things  incidentally  men-  lighteth  every  man  coming  into  the 
tioned  in  the  Synoptics),  and  partly  world,"  being  an  exact  quotation  of 
to  the  Christological  consequences  that  John  i.  9.  In  this  connection  Matthew 
have  been  seen  to  be  involved  in  their  Arnold  writes:  "In  general  he  {i.e. 
acceptance  of  the  Book  of  Revelation  Hippolytus)  uses  the  formula  'accord- 
as  the  work  of  John, — which  was  ori-  ing  to  them'  [ko.t  ainovs)  when  he 
ginally  part  of  the  Tubingen  creed.  quotes  from  the  school,  and  the  formula, 
On  the  other  side  are  ranged  many  'he  says'  (^ijcri).  when  he  gives  the 
eminent  scholars,  such  as  Meyer,  dicta  of  the  master.  And  in  this  par- 
Ewald,Hengstenberg,Luthardt,Godet,  ticular  case  he  manifestly  quotes  the 
Westcott,  Lightfoot,  and  Sanday.  dicta  of  Basilides,  and  no  one  who  had 

1  By  Theophilus  in  his  Ad  Anto-  not  a  theory  to  serve  would  ever  dream 
lycum,\\.  22;  180  A.D.  of  doubting   it.       Basilides,    therefore, 

2  Exception  has  been  taken  to  the  about  the  year  125  of  our  era,  had 
argument  from  the  alleged  testimony  before  him  the  Fourth  Gospel."  [God 
of  Basilides  and  Valentinus  on  the  and  the  Bible,  p.  268).  From  Hippo- 
ground  that  Hippolytus,  who  has  pre-  lytus  we  also  learn  that  this  (Jospel  was 
served  it  for  us  in  his  Refiitatioti  of  known  and  used  by  heretical  sects  still 
Heresies,  does  not  distinguish  between  earlier  than  Basilides,  viz.,  the  Ophites 
the  statements  of  those  teachers  them-  or  Naasenes  and  the  Pcratae. 


62  New  Testament  and  Its  Writers.  vi, 

the  second  century.  Born  in  Asia  Minor,  where  John 
spent  the  last  twenty  or  thirty  years  of  his  life,  he  became 
Bishop  of  Lyons  in  Gaul,  which  had  a  close  ecclesiastical 
connection  with  his  native  land.  Early  in  life  he  was 
brought  into  familiar  contact  with  Polycarp  (born  70  A.D.)» 
a  disciple  of  the  Apostle  John,  who  was  for  more  than  forty 
years  Bishop  of  Smyrna,  and  was  martyred  155  A.D, 
Among  other  allusions  which  he  makes  to  Polycarp,  he 
says,  in  a  letter  to  his  friend  Florinus  (177  A.D.),  "  I  can 
describe  the  very  place  in  which  the  blessed  Polycarp 
used  to  sit  when  he  discoursed,  and  his  goings  out  and 
his  comings  in,  and  his  manner  of  life  and  his  personal 
appearance,  and  the  discourses  which  he  held  before  the 
people,  and  how  he  would  describe  his  intercourse  with 
John  and  with  the  rest  who  had  seen  the  Lord,  and  how 
he  would  relate  their  words.  And  whatsoever  things  he 
had  heard  from  them  about  the  Lord  and  about  His 
miracles,  Polycarp,  as  having  received  them  from  eye- 
witnesses of  the  life  of  the  Word,  would  relate  altogether 
in  accordance  with  the  Scriptures." 

It  is  beyond  dispute  that  this  Irenaeus  accepted  the 
fourth  Gospel  as  a  genuine  work  of  the  Apostle  John.  Is 
it  credible  that  he  would  have  done  so,  if  it  had  not  been 
acknowledged  by  his  teacher  Polycarp,  who  had  been  a 
disciple  of  John  .''  And  if  it  was  accepted  by  Polycarp  as 
a  genuine  writing,  notwithstanding  its  marked  dissimi- 
larity to  the  other  Gospels,  what  better  evidence  could 
we  have  that  John  was  really  its  author,  and  that  it 
was  accepted  as  his,  from  the  very  first,  by  the  leaders  of 
the  Church  in  Asia  Minor  1  ^ 

1  This  argument  is  further  strength-  Christ   also   said,    Except   ye   be   born 

ened  by  the  fact  that  not  a  few  quota-  again,  ye  shall  in  no  wise  enter  into  the 

tions  from  this  Gospel  are  found  in  the  kingdom   of  heaven   ("Ai*   (rr\   avayev- 

writings  of  Justin  Martyr,  who  wrote  uT^diJTe,  ov  fir)  dae\dTi)Te  ei's  rrjj/  ^acriX- 

before  the  middle  of  the  and  century,  g/nj/    tQv    ovpavQv).       But    that    it    is 

and  was  well  acquainted  with  the  teach-  impossible  for   those   who    have    once 

ing  of  the  Church  m  Asia  Mmor,  his  ^een  born  to  enter  into  the  wombs  of 

Dialogue  with  Trypho  the  Jew  having  those  who  brought  them  forth,  is  mani- 

taken  place  in  Ephesus.     Among  other  fggt   to   all"   (John   iii.    3-5,   c/.    Matt, 

apparent  quotations  from  this  Gospel,  xviii.    3).      That   the  want    of   verbal 

Justin  has  the  following:  (i)  Referring  accuracy  in  this  quotation  should  not 

to  Baptism,  he  says  (--^/o/.  1.61):  "tor  i^g  held  to  invalidate   its   testimony  is 


VI. 


S/.  John. 


The  following  are  the  principal  facts  in  John's  life,  and 
the  circumstances  under  which  he  is  said  to  have  written 
his  Gospel : — 

The  younger  son  of  Zebedee,  a  Galilaean  fisherman  who 
was  in  a  position  to  have  "  hired  servants,"  ^  he  was  a 
follower  of  the  Baptist  before  joining  Christ's  fellowship.^ 
To  his  mother  Salome,  supposed  by  some  to  be  the  sister 
of  the  Virgin  Mary,^  who  was  one  of  the  most  devoted 
followers  of  Jesus,  he  and  his  brother  James  seem  to  have 
been  indebted  for  much  of  their  enthusiasm.'*  They  were 
surnamed  by  Jesus  "Boanerges"  (sons  of  thunder),''  in 
allusion  to  the  latent  fervour  and  vehemence  of  their 
nature,  of  which  we  are  not  without  tokens.*^  During 
Christ's  trial  and  crucifixion  John  was  a  close  and  deeply- 
interested  observer,  receiving  a  charge  from  his  dying 
Master  to  act  the  part  of  a  son  to  the  bereaved  Mary,'' 


shown  by  Dr  Ezra  Abbot,  who  men- 
tions [The  Fourth  Gospel,  p.  35)  that  of 
nine  quotations  which  Jeremy  Taylor 
makes  from  this  same  passage  (ver.  5) 
not  one  agrees  exactly  with  the  English 
version,  and  only  two  of  them  agree 
with  one  another.  (2)  He  frequently 
refers  to  Jesus  as  the  Logos  "made 
flesh  "  or  "having  become  man."  (3) 
He  calls  Him  "  the  only  begotten  to  the 
Father"  apparently  on  the  authority 
of  "the  memoirs"  [Dial.  c.  105,  cf. 
John  i.  14).  (4)  He  attributes  to  the 
Baptist  the  words,  "I  am  not  the 
Christ,  but  the  voice  of  one  crying," 
which  are  found  only  in  the  Fourth 
Gospel,  i.  20,  23. 

1  Mark  i.  19,  20. 

2  By  inference  from  John  i.,  especially 
vers.  35-42;  (quoted  p.  70,  note  i) ;  x. 
40,  41,  &c. 

^  John  xix.  25:  "But  there  were 
standing  by  the  cross  of  Jesus  his  mother, 
and  his  mother's  sister,  Mary  the  wife 
of  Clopas,  and  Mary  Magdalene ;  " 
cf.  Mark  xv.  40,  ' '  And  there  were  also 
women  beholding  from  afar ;  among 
whom  were  both  Mary  Magdalene,  and 
Mary  the  mother  of  James  the  less  and 
of  Joses,  and  Salome." 

■*  Matt.  XX.  20-24:  "Then  came  to 
him  the  mother  of  the  sons  of  Zebedee 
with  her  sons,  worshipping  him,  and 
asking  a  certain  thing  of  him.  And  he 
said  unto  her.  What  wouldest  thou? 
She  saith  tmto  him,  Command  that  these 


my  two  sons  may  sit,  one  on  thy  right 
hand,  and  one  on  thy  left  hand,  in  thy 
kingdom.  But  Jesus  answered  and 
said,  Ye  know  not  what  ye  ask.  Are  ye 
able  to  drink  the  cup  that  I  am  about 
to  drink?  They  say  unto  him.  We  are 
able.  .  .  ." 

5  Mark  iii.  17, 

6  Luke  ix.  49-55:  "And  John 
answered  and  said.  Master,  we  saw 
one  casting  out  devils  in  thy  name ; 
and  we  forbade  him,  because  he  follow- 
eth  not  with  us.  But  Jesus  said  unto 
him,  Forbid  him  not :  for  he  that  is  not 
against  you  is  for  you.  .  .  .  And 
they  (Samaritans)  did  not  receive  him, 
because  his  face  was  as  though  he  were 
going  to  Jerusalem.  And  when  his 
disciples  James  and  John  saw  this,  they 
said,  Lord,  wilt  thou  that  we  bid  fire 
to  come  clown  from  heaven,  and  con- 
sume them?  But  he  turned,  and  re- 
buked them." 

7  John  xviii.  15,  16 :  ''  And  Simon 
Peter  followed  Jesus,  and  so  did 
another  disciple.  Now  that  disciple 
was  known  unto  the  high  priest,  and 
entered  in  with  Jesus  into  the  court  of 
the  high  priest,"  &c.  xix.  25-27  :  "... 
When  Jesus  therefore  saw  his  mother, 
and  the  disciple  standing  by,  whom  he 
loved,  he  saith  unto  his  mother. 
Woman,  behold,  thy  son  !  Then  saith  he 
to  the  disciple.  Behold,  thy  mother ! 
And  from  that  hour  the  disciple  took 
her  unto  his  own  home." 


64  New  Testament  and  Its  Writers.  vi. 

which  he  faithfully  carried  out.  After  the  Resurrection 
we  find  him  associated  with  Peter  on  several  important 
occasions/  but  not  a  single  discourse  of  his  is  recorded 
in  the  Book  of  Acts.  He  still  continued,  however,  to  be 
revered  as  a  leader  of  the  Church,  for  we  find  him  referred 
to  by  St.  Paul,  in  connection  with  the  Council  of  Jerusalem 
(50  A.D.),  as  one  of  those  who  were  "  reputed  to  be  pillars."  - 
In  his  later  life,  after  the  fall  of  Jerusalem  (70  A.D.),  accord- 
ing to  a  general  and  well-supported  tradition,^  John  resided 
in  Ephesus  as  bishop  of  the  Churches  in  Asia  Minor  which 
had  been  founded  by  Paul,  and  was  banished  under  Domitian 
to  the  island  of  Patmos,  where  he  wrote  the  Book  of  Reve- 
lation, returning  to  Ephesus  in  the  reign  of  Nerva,  and 
living  there  till  after  the  accession  of  Trajan  (98  A.D.). 

It  was  in  Ephesus,  which  had  now  become  the  chief 
centre  of  Christianity,  and  was  beginning  to  be  infected  by 
the  errors  of  which  Paul  had  warned  its  elders  at  Miletus,* 
that  the  earliest  traditions  represent  John  to  have  written 
his  Gospel.  He  is  said  to  have  done  so  on  the  entreaty, 
and  with  the  subsequent  approval,  of  the  Apostle  Andrew 
and  other  leading  members  of  the  Church,  in  order  to 
supplement  the  teaching  of  the  three  Gospels  already 
published,  and  to  counteract  the  errors  which  were  beguil- 
ing some  from  the  simplicity  of  the  faith. 

Turning  now  to  the  evidence  of  its  authorship  afforded 
by  the  Gospel  itself,  we  may  first  of  all  note  the  fact  that 
the  whole  tone  of  the  book  would  give  one  the  impression 
that  it  was  written  by  some  one  who  was  fauiiliar  zuith 
the  imier  life  of  Christ  and  His  apostles.^    This  circumstance 


1  Acts  iii.,  iv.  (In  the  healing  of  the  •*  Acts   xx.    29,    30:    "I    know    that 

lame  man  at  the  door  of  the  temple —  after    my    departing     grievous    wolves 

in  preaching  to  the  people — in  testifying  shall  enter  in  among  you,  not  sparing 

before  the  Jewish  authorities — in  report-  the  flock  ;  and  from  among  your  own 

ing  to  their  own  company).  selves  shall  men  arise,  speaking  perverse 

-  Gal.  ii.  9  :   "James  and  Cephas  and  things,  to  draw  away  the  disciples  after 

John,    they   who   were  reputed    to    be  them." 

pillars."  s  i.  35-51  (Details   of  the  first    inter- 

"  The  recent  attempt  by  Keim  and  view  which  Andrew  and  another  (appa- 

Scholten  to  set  aside  this  tradition  has  rently  John)  and  Simon  Peter  and  Philip 

not  been  successful,  their  views  being  and  Nathanael  held  with  Jesus),     ii.  11 

sufficiently  refuted   by  Hilgenfeld   and  (Effect  of  the  miracle  at  Cana  on  the 

others  of  their  own  school.  faith   of    the  disciples,    "his    disciples 


VI. 


6"/.  John. 


65 


points  to  one  of  the  twelve  disciples  as  the  author — in 
accordance  with  the  statement  in  the  first  chapter,!  "  We 
beheld  his  glory,  glory  as  of  the  only  begotten  from  the 
Father,"  and  the  explicit  declaration  in  the  last  chapter 
(the  whole  of  which  seems  to  form  a  postscript  ^  added  by 
the  apostle  and  endorsed  by  his  companions), — "  This  is 
the    disciple  which  beareth  witness  of  these  things,  and 


believed  on  him  ").  ii.  17  :  "  His  disci- 
ples remembered  that  it  was  written, 
The  zeal  of  thine  house  shall  eat  me  up." 
ii.  21,  22  :  "  But  he  spake  of  the  temple 
of  his  body.  When  therefore  he  was 
raised  from  the  dead,  his  disciples 
remembered  that  he  spake  this ;  and 
they  believed  the  scripture,  and  the  word 
which  Jesus  had  said."  iv.  6,  8  (The 
hour,  and  other  circumstances,  of  Jesus' 
sitting  by  Jacob's  well),  iv.  27  :  "And 
upon  this  came  his  disciples  ;  and  they 
marvelled  that  he  was  speaking  with 
a  woman ;  yet  no  man  said,  What 
seekest  thou?  or,  W^hy  speakest  thou 
with  her?"  vi.  5-8  (Jesus'  conversation 
with  Philip  and  Andrew  regarding 
means  of  feeding  the  multitude),  vi. 
67-71  (Jesus'  conversation  with  Simon 
Peter  and  the  Twelve  whom  He  asked, 
Would  ye  also  go  away  ?).  ix.  2  :  "  And 
his  disciples  asked  him,  saying,  Rabbi, 
who  did  sin,  this  man,  or  his  parents, 
that  he  should  be  born  blind?"  xi. 
7-16  (Jesus'  conversation  with  His  disci- 
ples about  the  death  of  Lazarus,  and 
Thomas'  remark  to  his  fellow  -  dis- 
ciples, "Let  us  also  go,  that  we  may 
die  with  him"),  xii.  20-22:  "Now 
there  were  certain  Greeks  among  those 
that  went  up  to  worship  at  the  feast : 
these  therefore  came  to  Philip,  which  was 
of  Bethsaida  of  Galilee,  and  asked  him, 
saying,  Sir,  we  would  see  Jesus.  Philip 
Cometh  and  telleth  Andrew :  Andrew 
cometh,  and  Philip,  and  they  tell  Jesus." 
xiii.  (Jesus'  washing  of  the  disciples' 
feet,  and  His  conversation  with  them), 
xviii,  15,  16:  "And  Simon  Peter 
followed  Jesus,  and  so  did  another 
disciple.  Now  that  disciple  was  known 
unto  the  high  priest,  and  entered  in 
with  Jesus  into  the  court  of  the  high 
jjriest ;  but  Peter  was  standing  at  the 
door  without.  So  the  other  disciple, 
which  was  known  unto  the  high  priest, 
went  out  and  spake  unto  her  that  ke]5t 
the  door,  and  brought  in  Peter."  xx. 
{Incidents  on  the  morning  of  the  Lord's 
Resurrection,  and  details  of  His  mani- 


festation   to    Thomas    and    the    other 
disciples). 

1  i.  14. 

2  A  comparison  of  the  language  of 
this  chapter  with  that  of  the  Gospel 
generally,  affords  evidence  of  its  genuine- 
ness. Cf.  tlis  (XTTO  'Ky]'xfiv  diaKoffluv 
("about  two  hundred  cubits  off")  in 
ver.  8  and  ws  dwo  <jTa5iu>v  SeKairivTe 
("  about  fifteen  furlongs  off")  in  xi.  18; 
6ipa.pi.ov  Kal  apTov  ("fish  and  bread") 
in  ver.  9  and  the  similar  expression  in 
vi.  II,  6\p6.piov  being  found  nowhere  in 
the  New  Testament  except  in  John's 
writings  ;  6  fiaprvpui'  irepl  tovtwv  in 
ver.  24:  "This  is  the  disciple  which 
beareth  witness  of  these  things,  and 
wrote  these  things  :  and  we  know  that 
his  witness  is  true,"  and  the  many 
similar  expressions  in  John's  writings, 
e.g.  xix.  35  :  "  And  he  that  hath  seen 
hath  borne  witness,  and  his  witness  is 
true :  and  he  knoweth  that  he  saith 
true,  that  ye  also  may  believe "  ;  the 
designation,  peculiar  to  John's  Gospel, 
of  the  Sea  of  Galilee  as  the  Sea  of 
Tiberias,  in  ver.  i  and  vi.  i  ;  the  ex- 
pression "Nathanael  of  Cana  in  Gali- 
lee" in  ver.  2  as  illustrated  by  i.45 — ii. 
I  ;  "Thomas  called  Didymus"  in  ver. 
2,  xi.  16,  XX.  24,  and  nowhere  else  in 
the  New  Testament;  "the  disciple 
whom  Jesus  loved"  in  ver.  7,  ver.  20, 
xiii.  23,  xix.  26,  XX.  2,  and  nowhere  else. 
The  exact  recollection  and  fine  apprecia- 
tion of  the  Saviour's  words  in  ver.  23  : 
"This  saying  therefore  went  forth  among 
thebrethren,  that  that  disciple  should  not 
die  :  yet  Jesus  said  not  unto  him,  that 
he  should  not  die  ;  but,  If  I  will  that  he 
tarry  till  I  come,  what  is  that  to  thee  ?  " 
is  also  characteristic  of  the  Apostle 
John,  and  falls  in  with  the  supposition 
that  when  he  wrote,  his  life  seemed  to 
be  very  near  its  close.  The  words  in 
ver.  19,  "  Now  this  he  spake,  signifying 
by  what  manner  of  death  he  should 
glorify  God,"  may  be  taken  as  a  proof 
that  Peter  was  already  dead. 


66  New  Testame7tt  and  Its  Writers.  vi. 

wrote  these  things:  and  we  know  that  his  witness  is  true."  ^ 
As  to  which  of  the  disciples  is  here  meant,  we  find  a 
clue  in  the  twentieth  verse  of  the  same  chapter,  which 
identifies  him  with  "  the  disciple  whom  Jesus  loved,"  who 
is  twice  previously  referred  to  in  association  with  Peter,^ 
and  is  also  described  as  "  reclining  in  Jesus'  bosom  "  at  the 
Last  Supper.^  The  presumption  that  the  disciple  thus 
designated  was  one  of  the  sons  of  Zebedee,  who  were 
admitted  along  with  Peter  (as  the  other  evangelists  tell  us) 
to  a  closer  fellowship  with  their  Master  than  the  rest  of 
the  disciples,  is  strengthened  by  the  remarkable  circum- 
stance that  the  two  brothers  are  never  mentioned  in  this 
Gospel,  except  in  the  second  verse  of  the  last  chapter, 
where  they  are  referred  to  as  "  the  sons  of  Zebedee."  The 
position  there  assigned  to  them  in  the  list  of  disciples  is 
much  lower  than  is  usual  in  the  other  Gospels,  and  confirms 
us  in  the  supposition  that  it  was  modesty  that  led  the 
author  to  veil  his  own  name,'*  as  well  as  that  of  his  brother 
James  and  his  mother  Salome  (whom  he  nowhere  mentions 
unless  perhaps  once,'')  as  he  is  in  general  very  precise  and 
explicit  in  his  mode  of  designation.  As  between  the 
two  brothers,  there  can  be  no  hesitation  in  assigning  the 
authorship  to  John,  since  James  early  fell  a  victim  to  the 
Herodian  persecution  44  A.D.^ 

If  the  Gospel  was  not  written  by  John,  it  must  have 
been  written  by  some  one  who  wished  to  pass  for  that 
apostle.'^     But  where  shall  we  find   a  writer  of  the   post- 

1  xxi.  24.  disciple  standing  by,  whom  he   loved, 

2  XX.  2-10, — at  the  Saviour's  tomb  ;  he  saith  unto  his  mother,  Woman,  be- 
xxi.  7, — in  the  recognition  of  the  risen  hold,  thy  son  !  "  This  incident  is  not 
Lord.  recorded  in  any  of  the  other  Gospels, 

*  xiii.  23.  being    one    of   this   disciple's   own   re- 

*  i.    35-42:    "One   of    the  two   that       miniscences. 

heard  John  (i.e.  the  Baptist)  speak,  and  ^  xix.  25  ;  see  p.  63,  note  3. 

followed  him  "  (?.e.  Jesus),  was  Andrew;  ^  Acts  xii.  2  :   "And  he  (i.e.  Herod) 

(the  name  of  the  other  is  not  given).  killed  James  the  brother  of  John  with 

It   is   noteworthy   that    in   the    Fourth  the  sword." 

Gospel  the  Baptist  is  simply  designated  ''  In  the  latter  case  the  claim  would 

John,  the  writer  not  having  to  distinguish  surely    have    been    more    plainly    and 

between  two  persons  of  that  name,  as  directly  made,  as  in  other  forgeries  of 

the  other  evangelists  had.     xviii.  15,  16  the  age   (e.g.    in  the  Gospel  of  the  In- 

(quoted  on  page  65).     xix.  26  :   "When  fancy,  ■sa\A\hc  Clementine  Hamilies). 
Jesus  therefore  saw  his  mother,  and  the 


VI. 


S^.  John. 


67 


apostolic  age  possessed  of  the  intellectual  gifts  and 
the  spiritual  elevation  needed  for  the  production  of  so 
sublime  a  work,  a  writer  dishonest  enough  at  the  same 
time  to  claim  for  his  fabrications,  in  the  most  solemn 
terms,  the  authority  of  an  eye-witness  and  apostle  who 
had  reclined  in  Jesus'  bosom  ?  For  those  who  reject  the 
Johannine  authorship  this  amounts  to  an  insuperable 
difficulty.^ 

Besides  the  allusions  to  the  inner  life  of  Christ  and  His 
apostles  which  have  already  been  referred  to,  there  may  be 
discerned  in  this  Gospel,  on  a  close  examination,  many 
other  tokens  of  its  apostolic  origin. 

(l)  In  its  account  of  Christ's  ministry  it  gives  a  faithful 
picture  of  the  Messianic  expectations  which  existed  among 
the  Jews  prior  to  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  as  well  as 
of  the  conflict  which  Christ  waged  with  their  hopes  of 
temporal    sovereignty ;  -    while    we    also    find    traces    of 


1  From  the  writings  of  the  Apostles 
to  those  of  the  Apostohc  Fathers  is  a 
great  descent.  "We  have  to  go  to  the 
fourth  century,  to  the  time  of  Chrysos- 
tom  and  Augustine,  before  we  find  any 
Christian  writer  whom  it  would  not  be 
absurd  to  regard  as  capable,  even  with 
the  help  of  the  Synoptic  Gospels,  of 
putting  together  such  discourses  as 
those  in  the  Fourth  Gospel  "  (Peabody). 
The  character  of  the  Apocryphal  Gos- 
pels, in  particular,  confirms  this  view. 

2  i.  19-28:  "And  this  is  the  witness 
of  John,  when  the  Jews  sent  unto 
him  from  Jerusalem  priests  and  Levites 
to  ask  him,  Who  art  thou?  And  he 
confessed,  and  denied  not ;  and  he  con- 
fessed, I  am  not  the  Christ.  .  .  .  " 
iv.  25  :  "The  woman  saith  unto  him,  I 
know  that  Messiah  cometh  (w^hich  is 
called  Christ) :  when  he  is  come,  he 
will  declare  unto  us  all  things. "  v.  39-47  : 
"Ye  search  the  scriptures,  because  ye 
think  that  in  them  ye  have  eternal  life; 
and  these  are  they  which  bear  witness 
of  me  ;  and  ye  will  not  come  to  me,  that 
ye  may  have  life.'  vi.  14,  15  :  "  When 
therefore  the  people  saw  the  sign  which 
he  did,  they  said.  This  is  of  a  truth  the 
prophet  that  cometh  into  the  world. 
Jesus  therefore  perceiving  that  they  were 


about  to  come  and  take  him  by  force, 
to  make  him  king,  withdrew  again  into 
the  mountain  himself  alone."  vii.  25-44  ■ 
"...  Can  it  be  that  the  rulers  indeed 
know  that  this  is  the  Christ?  Howbeit 
we  know  this  man  whence  he  is  :  but 
when  the  Christ  cometh,  no  one  knoweth 
whence  he  is.  .  .  .  But  of  the  multitude 
many  believed  on  him  ;  and  they  said. 
When  the  Christ  shall  come,  will  he  do 
more  signs  than  those  which  this  man 
hath  done.  .  .  .  Some  of  the  multitude 
therefore,  when  they  heard  these  words, 
said,  This  is  of  a  truth  the  prophet. 
Others  said,  This  is  the  Christ.  .  .  ." 
[Lightfoot  points  out  that  the  distinction 
here  made  by  the  Jews  between  "the 
prophet"  (referring  to  Deut.  xviii.  15) 
and  the  Christ,  is  a  note  of  genuineness 
in  this  Gospel,  as  no  such  distinction 
was  recognised  within  the  Christian 
Church,  the  two  being  identified  in  Acts 
iii.  22  and  vii.  37.  The  popular  convic- 
tion, "This  is  of  a  truth  the  prophet 
that  cometh  into  the  world  "  (see  above), 
was  due  to  the  resemblance  between  the 
miraculous  feeding  of  the  five  thousand 
and  Moses'  feeding  of  the  Israelites  with 
manna.]  x.  24,  25:  "The  Jews  there- 
fore came  round  about  him,  and  said 
unto  him,  How  long  dost  thou  hold  us 


68 


New  Testament  and  Its  Writers. 


VI. 


acquaintance  with  the   Temple  arratigements  of  the  same 
period.^ 

(2)  It    shows    a     minute     acquaintance     with    Jeivish 
customs,      manners,      and     opinions^     frequently     giving 


in  suspense?  If  thou  art  the  Christ,  tell 
us  plainly.  Jesus  answered  them,  I 
told  you,  and  ye  believe  not :  the  works 
that  I  do  in  my  Father's  name,  these 
bear  witness  of  me."  xi.  47-53  :  "  The 
chief  priests  therefore  and  the  Pharisees 
gathered  a  council,  and  said,  What  do 
we?  for  this  man  doeth  many  signs. 
If  we  let  him  thus  alone,  all  men  will 
believe  on  him  :  and  the  Romans  will 
come  and  take  away  both  our  place  and 
our  nation.  .  .  ."  xii.  34  :  "The  mul- 
titude therefore  answered  him.  We  have 
heard  out  of  the  law  that  the  Christ 
abideth  for  ever  :  and  how  sayest  thou. 
The  Son  of  man  must  be  lifted  up  ?  who 
is  this  Son  of  man  ?"  .\ix.  12  :  "  Upon 
this  Pilate  sought  to  release  him  :  but 
the  Jews  cried  out,  saying.  If  thou  release 
this  man,  thou  art  not  Ciesar's  friend  : 
every  one  that  maketh  himself  a  king 
speaketh  against  Cassar." 

1  ii.  13-16:  "  And  the  passover  of  the 
Jews  was  at  hand,  and  Jesus  went  up  to 
Jerusalem.  And  he  found  in  the  temple 
those  that  sold  oxen  and  sheep  and 
doves,  and  the  changers  of  money  sit- 
ting :  and  he  made  a  scourge  of  cords, 
and  cast  all  out  of  the  temple,  both  the 
sheep  and  the  oxen  ;  and  he  poured  out 
the  changers'  money,  and  overthrew 
their  tables  ;  and  to  them  that  sold  the 
doves  he  said.  Take  these  things  hence  ; 
make  not  my  Father's  house  a  house  of 
merchandise."  iv.  20,  21  :  "  Our  fathers 
worshipped  in  this  mountain  ;  and  ye 
say,  that  in  Jerusalem  is  the  place  where 
men  ought  to  worship.  Jesus  saith  unto 
her,  Woman,  believe  me,  the  hour 
cometh,  when  neither  in  this  mountain, 
nor  in  Jerusalem,  shall  ye  worship  the 
Father."  viii.  20  :  "  These  words  spake 
he  in  the  treasury,  as  he  taught  in  the 
temple. "  x.  23  :  "  And  Jesus  was  walk- 
ing in  the  temple  in  Solomon's  porch." 

2  ii.  6 :  "  Now  there  were  six 
waterpots  of  stone  set  there  after  the 
Jews'  manner  of  purifying,  containing 
two  or  three  firkins  apiece."  iii.  25  : 
"There  arose  therefore  a  questioning 
on  the  part  of  John's  disciples  with 
a  Jew  about  purifying."  vii.  22  :  "  For 
this  cause  hath  Moses  given  you  circum- 
cision (not  that  it  is  of  Moses,  but  of  the 


fathers) ;  and  on  the  sabbath  ye  circum- 
cise a  man. "  xi.  55  :  "Now  the  passover 
of  the  Jews  was  at  hand  :  and  many 
went  up  to  Jerusalem  out  of  the  country 
before  the  passover,  to  purify  them- 
selves." xix.  7:  "The  Jews  answered 
him.  We  have  a  law,  and  by  that  law 
he  ought  to  die,  because  he  made 
himself  the  Son  of  God."  31:  "The 
Jews  therefore,  because  it  was  the  Pre- 
paration, that  the  bodies  should  not 
remain  on  the  cross  upon  the  sabbath 
(for  the  day  of  that  sabbath  was  a  high 
day),  asked  of  Pilate  that  their  legs 
might  be  broken,  and  that  they 
might  be  taken  away."  iv.  9:  "The 
Samaritan  woman  therefore  saith  unto 
him,  How  is  it  that  thou,  being  a 
Jew,  askest  drink  of  me,  which  am  a 
Samaritan  woman?  (For  Jews  have  no 
dealings  with  Samaritans)."  27:  "And 
upon  this  came  his  disciples  ;  and  they 
marvelled  that  he  was  speaking  with  a 
woman."'  vii.  2  :  "  Now  the  feast  of  the 
Jews,  the  feast  of  tabernacles,  was  at 
hand. "  37  :  "  Now  on  the  last  day,  the 
great  day  of  the  feast,  Jesus  stood  and 
cried,  saying.  If  any  man  thirst,  let  him 
come  unto  me,  and  drink."  x.  22: 
"  And  it  was  the  feast  of  the  dedication 
at  Jerusalem:  it  was  winter."  xi.  44: 
"  He  that  was  dead  came  forth,  bound 
hand  and  foot  with  grave-cloths  ;  and 
his  face  was  bound  about  with  a  nap- 
kin." xviii.  28:  "They  lead  Jesus 
therefore  from  Caiaphas  into  the  palace  : 
and  it  was  early  ;  and  they  themselves 
entered  not  into  the  palace,  that  they 
might  not  be  defiled,  but  might  eat  the 
passover."  .xi.x.  40  :  "So  they  took  the 
body  of  Jesus,  and  bound  it  in  linen 
cloths  with  the  spices,  as  the  custom 
of  the  Jews  is  to  bury."  i.  46  :  "And 
Nathanael  said  unto  him.  Can  any  good 
thing  come  out  of  Nazareth  ?  "  vii.  35  : 
"The  Jews  therefore  said  among  them- 
selves. Whither  will  this  man  go  that  we 
shall  not  find  him  ?  will  he  go  unto  the 
Dispersion  among  the  Greeks,  and  teach 
theGreeks?"  41:  "  Others  said.  This  is 
the  Christ.  But  some  said,  What,  doth 
the  Christ  come  out  of  Galilee  ?  "  52  : 
"They  answered  and  said  mito  him 
{i.e.    Nicodemus),    Art    thou    ajso    of 


VI. 


S^.  John. 


69 


explanations   as   if  it  were    written   by  a  Jew  for  foreign 
readers.^ 

(3)  It  also  shows  a  minute  acquaintance  with  the  topo- 
graphy of  Jerusalem,  and  with  the  geography  of  Palestine 
generally.- 


Galilee  ?  Search,  and  see  that  out  of 
Galilee  ariseth  no  prophet."  ix.  2 : 
"And  his  disciples  asked  him,  saying, 
Rabbi,  who  did  sin,  this  man,  or  his 
parents,  that  he  should  be  born  blind  ?  " 
16:  "Some  therefore  of  the  Pharisees 
said,  This  man  is  not  from  God,  because 
he  keepeth  not  the  sabbath.  But  others 
said,  How  can  a  man  that  is  a  sinner 
do  such  signs?  And  there  was  a  division 
among  them."  x.  19-21:  "  There  arose 
a  division  again  among  the  Jews  because 
of  these  words.  And  many  of  them  said, 
He  hath  a  devil,  and  is  mad  ;  why  hear 
ye  him  ?  Others  said.  These  are  not  the 
sayings  of  one  possessed  with  a  devil. 
Can  a  devil  open  the  eyes  of  the  blind  ?  " 
It  is  worthy  of  note  that  the  Johannine 
variation  from  "the  Pharisees  and  Sad- 
ducees "  of  the  Synoptics,  viz.,  "the 
chief  priests  and  the  Pharisees  "  ( vii.  32  ; 
xi.  47,  57,  &c. ),  finds  its  explanation  in 
the  fact  (mentioned  by  Josephus,  and 
implied  in  Acts  v.  17)  that  the  high 
priests  belonged  to  the  party  of  the 
Sadducees.  Hence  their  unusual  activity 
in  consequence  of  the  report  that  Lazarus 
had  been  raised  from  the  dead  (xii.  10), 
and  their  rudeness  in  debate,  also  men- 
tioned by  Josephus  as  characteristic  of 
the  Sadducees.  xi.  49  :  "  But  a  certain 
one  of  them,  Caiaphas,  being  high  priest 
that  year,  said  unto  them,  Ye  know 
nothing  at  all." 

1  (See  above. )  This  accounts  suffici- 
ently for  the  frequent  allusions  to  "the 
Jews"  without  supposing  that  the  writer 
was  a  foreigner,  especially  in  a  place  like 
Ephesus,  where  the  Jews  were  hostile  to 
the  Christian  faith.  Cf.  Paul's  allusion 
to  them  in  i  Thess.  ii.  14-16. 

'v.  2:  "Now  there  is  in  Jeru- 
salem by  the  sheep  gate  a  pool,  which 
is  called  in  Hebrew  Bethesda,  having 
five  porches."  ix.  7:  "And  said  unto 
him,  Go,  wash  in  the  pool  of  Siloam 
(which  is  by  interpretation,  Sent).  He 
went  away  therefore,  and  washed,  and 
came  seeing. "  xi.  18  :  "  Now  Bethany 
was  nigh  unto  Jerusalem,  about  fifteen 
furlongs  off"  xii.  12,  13:  "A  great  mul- 
titude .  .  .  took  the  branches  of  the 
palm  trees  "  {cf.  Matt.  xxi.  8  :  "  branches 


from  the  trees "  ;  Mark  xi.  8  :  "branches, 
which  they  had  cut  from  the  fields"), 
xviii.  i:  "When  Jesus  had  spoken 
these  words,  he  went  forth  with  his 
disciples  over  the  brook  Kidron,  where 
was  a  garden,  into  the  which  he  en- 
tered, himself  and  his  disciples."  15: 
"  And  Simon  Peter  followed  Jesus,  and 
so  did  another  disciple.  Now  that  dis- 
ciple was  known  unto  the  high  priest, 
and  entered  in  with  Jesus  into  the  court 
of  the  high  priest."  xix.  13:  "When 
Pilate  therefore  heard  these  words,  he 
brought  Jesus  out,  and  sat  down  on 
the  judgement-seat  at  a  place  called  The 
Pavement,  but  in  Hebrew,  Gabbatha. " 
17  :  "  And  he  went  out,  bearing  the  cross 
for  himself,  unto  the  place  called  The 
place  of  a  skull,  which  is  called  in 
Hebrew  Golgotha."  41 :  "  Now  in  the 
place  where  he  was  crucified  there  was  a 
garden  ;  and  in  the  garden  a  new  tomb 
wherein  was  never  man  yet  laid."  i.  28  : 
"These  things  were  done  in  Bethany 
beyond  Jordan,  where  John  was  baptiz- 
ing."  i.  44 :  "Now  Philip  was  from 
Bethsaida,  of  the  city  of  Andrew  and 
Peter."  ii.  i  :  "  And  the  third  day  there 
was  a  marriage  in  Cana  of  Galilee." 
iii.  23:  "And  John  also  was  baptizing 
in  ^non  near  to  Salim,  because  there 
was  much  water  there  :  and  they  came, 
and  were  baptized."  iv.  5:  "So  he 
cometh  to  a  city  of  Samaria,  called 
Sychar,  near  to  the  parcel  of  ground 
that  Jacob  gave  to  his  son  Joseph." 
11:  "The  well  is  deep."  20:  "Our 
fathers  worshipped  in  this  mountain." 
35:  "  Say  not  ye.  There  are  yet  four 
months,  and  then  cometh  the  harvest  ? 
behold,  I  say  unto  you,  Lift  up  your 
eyes,  and  look  on  the  fields,  that  they 
are  white  already  unto  harvest."  The 
depth  of  the  well  (fully  70  ft. ),  the  proxi- 
mity of  Mount  (jerizirn,  and  the  wide 
expanse  of  cornfields,  are  all  examples 
of  the  writer's  accuracy,  as  attested  by 
the  descriptions  of  modern  travellers, 
xi.  54:  "Jesus  therefore  walked  no 
more  openly  among  the  Jews,  but 
departed  thence  into  the  country  near 
to  the  wilderness,  into  a  city  called 
Ephraim." 


70 


New  Testament  and  Its  Writers. 


VI. 


(4)  It  is  cirannstantial  in  many  of  its  statements,  and 
graphic  in  its  delineation  of  character,  bearing  the  stamp 
of  personal  knowledge  such  as  would  be  possessed  by  an 
eye-ivitness} 


^  Instances  of  minute  detail  are  given 
below  -  but,  speaking  generally,  we  may 
say  that  it  is  to  this  Gospel  we  are 
chiefly  indebted  for  our  knowledge  of 
the  individualities  of  the  apostles  and 
other  minor  characters.  Thomas,  for 
example,  would  be  to  us  merely  a  name, 
if  it  were  not  for  what  is  recorded  of 
him  in  this  Gospel.  The  representation 
of  Martha  and  Mary  in  chap.  xi.  fills 
up  with  marvellous  delicacy  the  outline 
supplied  by  Luke  x.  38-42 ;  while  in 
chap.  ix.  the  character  of  the  man 
born  blind  is  evidently  drawn  from  the 
life.  i.  29:  "On  the  morrow  he  seeth 
Jesus  coming  unto  him."  35-43: 
"  Again  on  the  morrow  John  was  stand- 
ing, and  two  of  his  disciples ;  and  he 
looked  upon  Jesus  as  he  walked,  and 
saith,  Behold,  the  Lamb  of  God  !  And 
the  two  disciples  heard  him  speak,  and 
they  followed  Jesus.  And  Jesus  turned, 
and  beheld  them  following,  and  saith 
unto  them,  What  seek  ye?  And  they 
said  unto  him,  Rabbi  (which  is  to  say, 
being  interpreted, Master),  where  abidest 
thou  ?  He  saith  unto  them,  Come,  and 
ye  shall  see.  They  came  therefore  and 
saw  where  he  abode  ;  and  they  abode 
with  him  that  day  :  it  was  about  the 
tenth  hour.  One  of  the  two  that  heard 
John  speak,  and  followed  him,  was 
Andrew,  Simon  Peter's  brother.  He 
findeth  first  his  own  brother  Simon, 
and  saith  unto  him.  We  have  found  the 
Messiah  (which  is,  being  interpreted, 
Christ).  He  brought  him  unto  Jesus. 
Jesus  looked  upon  him,  and  said.  Thou 
art  Simon  the  son  of  John  :  thou  shall 
be  called  Cephas  (which  is  by  inter- 
pretation, Peter).  On  the  morrow  he 
was  minded  to  go  forth  into  Galilee,  and 
he  findeth  Philip  :  and  Jesus  saith  unto 
him,  Follow  me."  ii.  i:  "And  the 
third  day  there  was  a  marriage  in  Cana 
of  Galilee."  20:  "The  Jews  therefore 
said.  Forty  and  six  years  was  this  temple 
in  building,  and  wilt  thou  raise  it  up  in 
three  days?"  [With  the  help  of  Josephus 
it  can  be  shown  that  Herod's  temple 
was  commenced  about  A.  U.  c.  735,  i.e. 
B.C.  r8.  St  Luke  tells  us  (iii.  i)  that 
our  Lord's  Baptism  took  place  about 
the  fifteenth  year  of  Tiberius,  which  was 
in  781-2  A.u.c,  or  28-9  a.d. — being 
about  47  years  later.     As  the  conversa- 


tion referred  to  probably  took  place  at 
the  ensuing  Passover,  we  have  practi- 
cally confirmation  of  the  cursory  state- 
ment in  the  text.]  iv.  6  :  "  And  Jacob's 
well  was  there.  Jesus  therefore,  being 
wearied  with  his  journey,  sat  thus  by  the 
well.  It  was  about  the  sixth  hour."  iv. 
40 :  "So  when  the  Samaritans  came  unto 
him,  they  besought  him  to  abide  with 
them:  and  he  abode  there  two  days." 
52:  "So  he  inquired  of  them  the 
hour  when  he  began  to  amend.  They 
said  therefore  unto  him.  Yesterday  at 
the  seventh  hour  the  fever  left  him." 
vi.  16-24 :  (Circumstances  of  Christ's 
walking  on  the  sea,  and  being  sought  by 
the  multitude  at  Capernaum),  x.  40; 
' '  And  he  went  away  again  beyond  Jor- 
dan into  the  place  where  John  was  at 
the  first  baptizing  ;  and  there  he  abode. " 
xi.  6  :  "  When  therefore  he  heard  that 
he  was  sick,  he  abode  at  that  time  two 
days  in  the  place  where  he  was."  39: 
"Jesus  saith.  Take  ye  away  the  stone. 
Martha,  the  sister  of  him  that  was  dead, 
saith  unto  him,  Lord,  by  this  time  he 
stinketh :  for  he  hath  been  dead  four 
days."  xii.  i  :  "  Jesus  therefore  six  clays 
before  the  passover  came  to  Bethany, 
whei"e  Lazarus  was,  whom  Jesus  raised 
from  the  dead."  xviii.  10,  12,  13: 
"  Simon  Peter  therefore  having  a  sword 
drew  it,  and  struck  the  high  priest's 
servant,  and  cut  off  his  right  ear.  Now 
the  servant's  name  was  Malchus.  .  .  . 
So  the  band  and  the  chief  captain,  and 
the  officers  of  the  Jews,  seized  Jesus  and 
bound  him,  and  led  him  to  Annas  first  ; 
for  he  was  father-in-law  to  Caiaphas, 
which  was  high  priest  that  year." 
xviii.  26:  "One  of  the  servants  of  the 
high  priest,  being  a  kinsman  of  him 
whose  ear  Peter  cut  off,  saith,  Did  not 
I  see  thee  in  the  garden  with  him?" 
xix.  25:  "But  there  were  standing  by 
the  cross  of  Jesus  his  mother,  and  his 
mother's  sister,  Mary  the  wife  of  Clopas, 
and  Mary  Magdalene."  xx.  i-io : 
"  Now  on  the  first  day  of  the  week 
cometh  Mary  Magdalene  early,  vvhile  it 
was  yet  dark,  unto  the  tomb,  and  seeth 
the  stone  taken  away  from  the  tomb. 
She  runneth  therefore,  and  cometh  to 
Simon  Peter,  and  to  the  other  disciple, 
whom  Jesus  loved,  and  saith  unto  them. 
They  have  taken  away  the  Lord  out  of 


VI. 


SL  JoJiJi. 


71 


(5)  While  written  in  Greek,  it  is  Hebraic  in  its  style  and 
structure,  abounding  in  parallels  and  contrasts  ^  both  in 
expression  and  arrangement,  and  being  marked  by  great 
simplicity  of  syntax;  and  it  frequently  quotes  from  the 
Old  Testament,  sometimes  directly  from  the  Hebrew.^ 

All  that  can  be  alleged  against  the  apostolic  authorship 
of  the  fourth  Gospel,  on  account  of  its  marked  divergence 
from  the  other  Gospels  in  the  representation  of  Christ's 
character  and  teaching,  is  sufficiently  met  by  the  fact  that 
"  the  synoptical  Gospels  contain  the  Gospel  of  the  infant 
Church;  that  of  St  John  the  Gospel  in  its  maturity.  The 
first  combine  to  give  the  wide  experience  of  the  many ;  the 
last  embraces  the  deep  mysteries  treasured  up  by  the  one."'' 


the  tomb,  and  we  know  not  w  here  they 
have  laid  him.  Peter  therefore  went 
forth,  and  the  other  disciple,  and  they 
went  toward  the  tomb.  And  they  ran 
both  together :  and  the  other  disciple 
outran  Peter,  and  came  first  to  the 
tomb  ;  and  stooping  and  looking  in,  he 
seeth  the  linen  cloths  lying  ;  yet  entered 
he  not  in.  Simon  Peter  therefore  also 
Cometh,  following  him,  and  entered  into 
the  tomb  ;  and  he  beholdeth  the  linen 
cloths  lying,  and  the  napkin,  that  was 
upon  his  head,  not  lying  with  the  linen 
cloths,  but  rolled  up  in  a  place  by  itself. 
Then  entered  in  therefore  the  other 
disciple  also,  which  came  first  to  the 
tomb,  and  he  saw,  and  believed.  B'or 
as  yet  they  knew  not  the  scripture,  that 
he  must  rise  again  from  the  dead.  So 
the  disciples  went  away  again  unto  their 
own  home." 

1  E.g.  there  is  a  marked  absence 
(as  in  Hebrew)  of  subordinate  clauses. 
The  usual  conjunction  is  Kat("and"), 
corresponding  to  the  Hebrew  1 — vari- 
ously translated  in  our  English  Version, 
to  bring  out  more  precisely  the  con- 
nection in  each  case.  The  author  also 
explains  various  Hebrew  words,  e.g. 
"  Rabbi  (which  is  to  say,  being  inter- 
preted, Master),"  "Messiah  (which  is, 
being  interpreted,  Christ),"  "Cephas 
(which  is  by  interpretation,  Peter) "  (i. 
38,  41,  42).  He  also  shows  his  know- 
ledge of  the  Hebrew  word  Iscariot 
("man  of  Kerioth")  by  applying  the 
name  not  only  to  Judas  himself  (as  in 
the  other  Gospels),  but  also  to  his  father 
Simon  (vi.  71,    &.c.,    R.V. ),  and   alone 


of  the  Evangelists  he  gives  Peter's  patro- 
nymic as  "son  of  John"  (i.  42,  ik.c., 
R.V.,  instead  of  "Bar-Jonah,"  Matt. 
xvi.  17) — meaning,  according  to  its 
Hebrew  original  {Johanan),  "son  of 
the  grace  of  God" — which  lends  new 
significance  to  our  Saviour's  words  in 
addressing  Peter  by  this  name  on 
several  important  occasions  (i.  42  ;  xxi. 
15-17  ;  Matt.  xvi.  17).  In  keeping  with 
the  Hebraic  character  of  the  book  is  the 
prominence  of  the  sacred  numbers, 
three  and  seven,  e.g.  three  Passovers  (ii. 
13  ;  vi.  4  ;  xi.  55),  three  visits  to  Galilee, 
three  sayings  on  the  Cross ;  seven 
miracles,  seven-fold  testimony  to  Christ, 
seven-fold  affirmation  of  His  claim  "I 
am"  (see  p.  74,  notes  i,  2). 

'-  E.g.  xii.  13,  where  John  (like 
Matthew  .xxi.  9)  preserves  the  Hebrew 
"Hosanna"  instead  of  adopting  the 
aCidov  5??  of  the  Septuagint  (Ps.  cxviii. 
25).  xiii.  18  :  "  He  thateateth  my  bread 
lifteth  up  his  heel  against  me"  (iwijpei' 
eir  efj.e  rrjv  wrkpvav  avrov),  being  a 
cjuotation  from  Ps.  xli.  9,  which,  in  the 
Septuagint,  however,  reads  differently, 
viz.,  'c/j.eya\vvev  eV  efj.^  irTepinff/j.dv. 
xix.  37:  "They  shall  look  on  him 
whom  they  pierced "  ("Oi/'Oi'Tat  ei's  8v 
(^€K€VT7](Tav),  being  a  quotation  from 
Zech.  xii.  10,  which  reads  differently, 
however,  in  the  Septuagint,  viz.,  Kal 
finj3\e\f'0VTaL  Trpds  fJ-e  avd'   wv   Karwp- 

«  Westcott's  Introduction,  chap.  v. 
P-  253. 


7  2  New  Testament  and  Its  Writers.  vi. 

If  we  suppose  the  fourth  Gospel  to  have  been  written  about 
85  A.D.,  an  interval  of  more  than  half-a-century  would  thus 
have  elapsed  since  the  death  of  Christ  During  that  time 
Christianity  had  spread  into  many  lands  and  furnished 
subjects  for  reflection  to  many  minds,  while  the  Jewish 
expectations  and  prejudices  which  had  clung  to  many  of 
the  early  members  of  the  Church  had  been  in  a  great 
measure  dissipated  by  the  fall  of  Jerusalem.  In  these  cir- 
cumstances it  was  inevitable  that  the  truths  of  the  Gospel 
should  be  viewed  in  new  lights  and  assume  more  specula- 
tive forms ;  and  in  Ephesus,  as  the  great  meeting-place 
of  Oriental  mysticism  and  Greek  philosophy,  the  deeper 
questions  and  more  theological  aspects  of  the  new  religion 
would  naturally  claim  a  large  measure  of  attention.^ 

We  thus  see  that,  as  the  other  Gospels  had  reference  to 
distinct  types  of  thought  for  which  they  were  severally 
adapted,  so  the  fourth  Gospel  was  designed  to  meet  the 
demand  for  a  more  intellectual  presentation  of  divine  truth, 
which  might  serve  as  an  antidote  to  the  Gnostic  specula- 
tions which  were  imperilling  the  recognition  at  one  time 
of  Christ's  divinity,  and  at  another  time  of  His  humanity. 
In  God's  providence  a  worthy  exponent  of  this  phase  of 
the  Gospel  was  found  in  the  aged  Apostle  John,  whose 
heart  and  mind  had  been  so  receptive  of  divine  truth 
even  in  his  youth  as  to  win  for  him  the  place  of  closest 
fellowship  with  his  Master,  and  who  had  since  then  en- 
joyed the  teaching  of  the  Holy  Spirit  for  a  longer  period 
than  any  of  his  fellows,  and  amid  more  intellectual  sur- 
roundings, and  was  thus  singularly  fitted  for  the  great 
task  which  Providence  had  assigned  to  him.^ 

1  Cf.  Paul's  Epistles  to  the  Colossians  tion  as  helping  to  account  for  his  wider 
and  the  Ephesians.      (Chaps,  xv.,  xvi).  intellectual  sympathies,  which  fitted  him 

2  The  higher  social  position,  and,  to  be  "  the  Plato  of  the  Twelve."  How 
presumably,  better  education,  of  John  far  he  may  have  amplified  some  of  our 
and  his  brother  (judging  from  his  Saviour's  great  sayings,  or  combined 
father's  circumstances,  his  personal  words  uttered  on  different  occasions,  it 
acquaintance  with  the  high  priest,  and  is  difficult  to  say.  But  of  his  general 
his  mother's  request  for  her  two  sons  fidelity  as  a  reporter  we  need  have  no 
that  they  might  sit  the  one  on  the  right  doubt  when  we  bear  in  mind  (i)  the 
hand  and  the  other  on  the  left  hand  of  general  precision  and  accuracy  of  his 
the  Saviour  in  His  kingdom)  are  perhaps  narrative  in  matters  that  admit  of  being 
not  without  significance  in  this  connec-  verified  ;  (2)  the  entire  absence  from  the 


VI.  SL  JoJm.  73 

2.  Date  of  Composition. 
85-90  A.D.,  as  indicated  above. 

3.   Character  and  Contents. 

Many  of  the  remarks  that  might  have  been  made  under 
this  head  have  already  found  place  in  this  chapter,  and 
in  the  general  discussion  of  the  Gospels/  where  a  contrast 
is  drawn  between  the  Synoptics  and  the  fourth  Gospel. 
On  the  whole,  perhaps  no  fitter  epithet  can  be  found  for 
this  Gospel  than  that  applied  to  it  by  Clement  of  Alex- 
andria at  the  close  of  the  second  century,  viz.,  the  spiritual 
Gospel.  It  may  also  be  described  as  the  doctrinal  or  tJieo- 
logicar-  Gospel.  It  represents  Christ's  person  and  work  not 
with  special  reference  to  the  Past,  or  the  Present,  or  the 
Future ;  but  generally  with  reference  to  Eternity,  in  which 
Past,  Present,  and  Future  are  alike  included. 

Its  great  theme  is  set  forth  in  the  Prologue  or  Intro- 
duction,^ which  strikes  the  keynote  of  the  whole  Gospel,, 
representing  Christ  as  the  Manifestation  of  the  divine 
Being,  the  only  Source  of  life  and  light,  in  human 
form,*  and,  as  such,  the  object,  on  the  one  hand,  of  sav- 
ing faith,  and  the  occasion,  on  the  other  hand,  of  the 
world's  unbelief  The  whole  book  is  an  elaboration  of 
this  sublime  thought,  wrought  out  with  a  singular  union 
of  depth  and  simplicity,  in  close  historical  relation 
with  the  Lord's  visits  to  Jernsaleni  at  the  national 
feasts,  when  He  had  occasion  to  press  His  claims,  as  the 
Revealer   of  the    Father,  upon    the  teachers  of  religion, 

discourses  he  attributes  to  the  Saviour  ^  Hence  the  name  Theologus  applied 

of  his  own  leading  idea  of  the  "  Word,"  to  St.  John, 

or  Logos,  so  prominent  in  his  introduc-  '  i.  1-18. 

tion,  and   mentioned   also  in   his  First  ^  i.  i  :   "the  Word  was  God."   i.  14: 

Epistle  (i.  i),  .and  Apocalypse  (xix.  13) ;  "  the  Word  became  flesh."     It  matters 

(3)   the   presence    in   the   Synoptics   of  little  how  far  the  apostle  was  indebted  to 

germs  of   thought  that  are  more  fully  Philo  or  other  philosophizing  Jews  for 

developed  in  the  Fourth   Gospel  (Matt.  the  use  of  the  word  "  logos  "  as  a  term 

xi.  25-30 ;  xxii.  41-45  ;   Luke  x.  21,  22) ;  of  theology.      In  any  case,  he  gave  the 

and  (4)  the  circumstantial  account  that  word    an   entirely   new   application   by 

is  given  of  some  of  the  discourses,  with  connecting  it  with  the  Incarnation,  using 

the  misunderstandings  and  interruptions  it  thus    as  a  means   of  bringing   God 

w^hich  took  place  in  the  course  of  them,  nearer  in  a  personal  sense,  instead  of 

{^e.g.  chap.  viii.).  speculating  about  Him  in  the  region  of 

^  Chap.  ii.  an  abstract  theology. 


74 


New  Testament  and  Its  Writers. 


VI. 


in  connection  with  the  national  expectation  of  the  Messiah. 
This  revelation,  attested  by  various  forms  of  divine  wit- 
ness-bearing,^ and  expressed  in  the  language  of  many 
symbols,^  may  be  said  to  reach  a  climax  in  the  twelfth 
chapter  :  "  These  things  spake  Jesus,  and  he  departed  and 
hid  himself  from  them.  But  though  he  had  done  so  many 
signs  before  them,  yet  they  believed  not  on  him."^  The 
remainder  of  the  book  depicts,  on  the  one  hand,  the  down- 
ward course  of  the  world's  unbelief  leading  to  the  crucifixion, 
and  on  the  other,  the  perfecting  of  the  disciples'  faith, 
which  attains  its  final  and  typical  expression  in  the  slowly- 
matured  but  deep-rooted  confession  of  the  doubting 
Thomas,  "  My  Lord  and  my  God."  ^ 

As  already  indicated,  the  fourth  Gospel  contains  very  few 
incidents  of  the  ministry  in  Galilee.  In  this  respect,  as  well 
as  in  many  of  its  unexplained  allusions  and  remarkable 
omissions,  it  takes  for  granted  acquaintance  with  the 
earlier    Gospels.-^     The    matter    it    contains    in    common 


1  Westcott  enumerates  seven,  viz.  (i) 
the  witness  of  the  P'ather  (v.  34,  37  ; 
viii.  18) ;  (2)  the  witness  of  the  Son  (viii. 
14;  xviii.  37);  (3)  the  witness  of  His 
works  (x.  25  ;  v.  36,  &c. ) ;  (4)  the  wit- 
ness of  Scripture  (v.  39-46) ;  (5)  the  wit- 
ness of  the  Forerunner  (i.  7  ;  v.  33) ;  (6) 
the  witness  of  the  disciples  (xv.  27 ; 
xix.  35) ;  and  (7)  the  witness  of  the 
.Spirit  (xv.  26  ;  xvi.  14). 

-Also  seven  in  number,  viz.  ("I 
am"),  "the  bread  of  life,"  "the  light 
of  the  world,"  "  the  door  of  the  sheep," 
"the  good  shepherd,"  "the  resurrec- 
tion and  the  life,"  "  the  way,"  ''  the  true 
vine  "  (Farrar). 

>*  xii.  36-40.  The  habitual  use  of  the 
word  "signs"  {(rrifj.e'ia)  or  "works" 
(^pya) — instead  of  "mighty  works" 
(Swd/j-eis)  or  "wonders"  (repara) — to 
describe  Christ's  miracles,  is  character- 
istic of  the  Fourth  Gospel.  The  first 
name  indicates  (what  the  evangelist 
in  several  instances  expressly  brings 
out;  vi.  48 ;  ix.  39)  that  "what  the 
Lord  did  corporeally  He  desired  to  be 
understood  spiritually  "  (Augustine);  the 
second  represents  a  miracle  as  but  the 
exercise  and  manifestation  of  an  in- 
dwelling Divine  power  (x.  37,  38). 


■^  XX.  28.  Other  confessions  of  faith 
(in  less  degree)  are  peculiar  to  this 
Gospel,  e.i^.  i.  29:  "Behold  the  Lamb 
of  God"  (Baptist);  i.  41:  "We  have 
found  the  Messiah "  (Andrew) ;  i.  49 : 
"Rabbi,  thou  art  the  Son  of  God" 
(Nathanael);  vii.  46:  "  Never  man  so 
spake  "  (officers) ;  ix.  38:  "Lord,  I  be- 
lieve" (blind  man);  xi.  27 :  "I  have 
believed  that  thou  art  the  Christ,  the 
Son  of  God  "  (Martha). 

s  Many  long  intervals  are  passed  over  ; 
e.g.  between  the  feast  of  the  Passover 
(vi.  4)  and  the  feast  of  Tabernacles  (vii. 
2),  during  which  time  the  evangeli.st 
expressly  mentions  that  ' '  Jesus  walked 
in  Galilee."  Cf.  i.  14  :  "And  the  Word 
became  flesh,  and  dwelt  among  us" — 
although  the  miraculous  birth  is  not 
recorded,  i.  32  :  "And  John  bare  wit- 
ness, saying,  I  have  beheld  the  Spirit  de- 
scending as  a  dove  out  of  heaven  ;  and 
it  abode  upon  him," — although  Christ's 
baptism  is  not  recorded,  i.  40 :  "One 
of  the  two  that  heard  John  speak,  and 
followed  him,  was  Andrew,  Simon  Peter's 
brother," — although  the  latter  is  not  pre- 
viously mentioned,  iii.  5:  "Jesus  an- 
swered, Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  thee, 
Except  a  man  be  born  of  water  and  the 


VI. 


SL  John. 


75 


with  the  three  other  Gospels  is  very  limited  in  extent, 
but  of  the  most  profound  significance,  viz.,  the  Miraculous 
Feeding  of  the  Multitude,  and  the  Death  and  Resurrec- 
tion of  Christ.  A  crucified  and  risen  Saviour  who  can 
say  of  Himself,  "  I  am  the  bread  of  life ;  he  that 
Cometh  to  me  shall  not  hunger,  and  he  that  believeth 
on  me  shall  never  thirst,"^  —  this  is  the  essence  of 
the  four  Gospels,  as  it  is  the  essence  of  Christianity 
symbolised  in  the  Lord's  Supper  ;  and  the  final  object  of 
the  whole  New  Testament  is  summed  up  by  the  last  of 
the  apostles  when  he  says,  "These  are  written,  that  ye  may 
believe  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God  ;  and  that, 
believing,  ye  may  have  life  in  his  name."  - 


Spirit,  he  cannot  enter  into  the  kingdom 
of  God," — although  the  institution  of 
baptism  is  not  recorded,  iii.  13:  "And 
no  man  hath  ascended  into  heaven,  but 
he  that  descended  out  of  heaven,  even  the 
Son  of  man,  which  is  in  heaven  ;  "  vi.  62  : 
"What  then  if  ye  should  behold  the  Son 
of  man  ascending  where  he  was  before  ?  "  ; 
XX.  17:  "Jesus  saith  to  her,  Touch  me 
not ;  for  I  am  not  yet  ascended  unto 
the  Father :  but  go  unto  my  brethren, 
and  say  to  them,  I  ascend  unto  my 
Father  and  your  Father,  and  my  God 
and  your  God,"  —  although  Christ's 
Ascension  is  not  recorded.  iii.  24 : 
"  P'or  John  was  not  yet  castinto  prison," 
■ — although  no  such  imprisonment  is 
recorded,  (probably  with  reference  to 
Matt.  iv.  12 ;  Mark  i.  14).  iv.  44 : 
"For  Jesus  himself  testified,  that  a 
prophet  hath  no  honour  in  his  own 
country,"  (probably  with  reference  to 
Matt.  xiii.  57 ;  Mark  vi.  4 ;  Luke  iv. 
24).  vi.  55:  "For  my  flesh  is  meat 
indeed,  and  my  blood  is  drink  indeed," 
• — although  the  institution  of  the  Lord's 
Supper  is  not  recorded,  vi.  70  :  "Jesus 
answered  them,  Did  not  I  choose  you 
the  twelve,  and  one  of  you  is  a  devil  ?  " — 
although  the  appointment  of  the  twelve 
is   not  recorded,     xi.  i:   "Now  a  cer- 


tain man  was  sick,  Lazarus  of  Bethany, 
of  the  village  of  Mary  and  her  sister 
Martha," — although  no  such  persons  as 
Mary  and  Martha  have  yet  been  men- 
tioned, (probably  with  reference  to 
Luke  X.  38-42).  vii.  41,  42:  "Others 
said,  This  is  the  Christ.  But  some 
said,  What,  doth  the  Christ  come  out 
of  Galilee?  Hath  not  the  scripture  said 
that  the  Christ  cometh  of  the  seed  of 
David,  and  from  Bethlehem,  the  village 
where  David  was?";  vii.  52:  "They 
answered  and  said  unto  him  [i.e. 
Nicodemus),  Art  thou  also  of  Galilee? 
Search,  and  see  that  out  of  Galilee 
ariseth  no  prophet  ;  "  i.  46  :  "  .\nd 
Nathanael  said  unto  him.  Can  any  good 
thing  come  out  of  Nazareth  ?  Philip 
saith  unto  him,  Come  and  see."  The 
objection  thus  variously  stated  ad- 
mitted of  a  very  simple  but  sufficient 
answer — that  it  was  at  Bethlehem  Jesus 
was  actually  born.  Yet  this  fact,  so 
prominent  in  the  Gospels  of  Matthew 
and  Luke,  is  neither  recorded  nor 
alluded  to  by  this  evangelist — evidently 
because  it  was  so  well  known  to  his 
readers  that  it  would  have  been  super- 
fluous to  mention  it. 

^  vi.  35. 

2  XX.  31. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

"  THE   ACTS   OF   THE   APOSTLES." 

I.  Attthorship. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  Book  of  Acts  is  from 
the  same  pen  as  the  third  Gospel.  This  is  evident  from 
the  preface  at  the  head  of  each  book,  and  from  the 
general  similarity  of  their  style  and  structure. 

An  attempt  has  been  made,  however,  to  raise  a  dis- 
tinction, as  regards  authorship,  between  different  por- 
tions of  the  book.  There  are  certain  passages  whose 
genuineness  has  scarcely  ever  been  disputed  —  those,, 
namely,  in  which  the  writer  uses  the  first  person  plural,  as 
having  been  himself  present  on  the  occasions  referred 
to.^  It  is  generally  acknowledged  that  these  passages  are 
the  genuine  work  of  a  companion  of  the  apostle.  But 
by  a  certain  school  of  critics  the  rest  of  the  book  has  a 
very  different  character  assigned  to  it.  According  to 
them,  the  "  we  "  passages  formed  the  original  notes  of  an 
eye-witness,  which  were  made  use  of  by  a  subsequent  writer 
in  the  second  century,  as  the  nucleus  of  a  history  in 
great  part  fictitious,  which  was  designed  to  bridge  over  the 
gulf  between  Paul  and  the  rest  of  the  apostles.^ 

Even  if  this   theory  could  be  proved  to  be  correct,  it 


1  From  these  passages  it  appears  that  lem  (xx.5 — xxi.  18),  and  afterwards  from 

the  writer   joined    Paul's    company   at  Caesarea  to  Rome  (xxvii.  i — xxviii.  16). 

Troas   (xvi.    10),    that   he  accompanied  -  For  a  refutation  of  this  "  Tubingen  " 

him  to  Philippi,  where  he  was  left  be-  theory  of  an  irreconcilable  antagonism 

hind  when    Paul   departed   to   another  between   Paulas   "the   apostle   of    the 

city,  that  after  an  interval  of  six  or  seven  Gentiles,"    and    the   original    apostles, 

years  he    rejoined  the   apostle   on    the  see  (in  this  connection),  Salmon's  Intro- 

latter's  return  to   Philippi,  and  accom-  duction,  4th  edition,  pp.  330-8. 
paniedhimon  his  last  journey  tojerusa- 


VII.  The  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  yj 

would  not  get  rid  of  the  supernatural  element  to  which 
these  critics  have  such  an  aversion,  for  in  the  passages 
thus  admitted  to  be  genuine  there  are  statements  that 
imply  miraculous  occurrences.^ 

But  in  reality  there  is  no  sufficient  evidence  to  war- 
rant such  a  view.  With  regard  to  external  testimony,  we 
find  in  some  of  the  earliest  Christian  writers  (Clement  of 
Rome,  Ignatius,  Polycarp,  Hermas,  Justin  Martyr,  &c.),  not 
a  few  expressions  which  seem  to  reproduce  the  language  of 
this  book — drawn  not  only  from  the  "  we  "  sections  but 
from  other  parts  of  it  as  well.^  The  impression  thus  made 
upon  us  in  favour  of  the  book  as  it  now  stands  is  con- 
firmed by  finding  it  in  the  Syriac  and  Old  Latin  Versions 
and  also  in  the  Muratorian  Canon. 

But  it  is  the  internal  character  of  the  book  that  affords 
the  best  refutation  of  the  theory  in  question.  A  minute 
and  critical  examination  of  the  account  of  Paul's  missionary 
journeys  before  Luke  joined  him  (Acts  xiii.,  xiv.)  has 
recently  led  an  accomplished  scholar  and  archaeologist  to 
the  conclusion  that  it  "  is  founded  on,  or  perhaps  actually 
incorporates,  an  account  written  down  under  the  immediate 
influence  of  Paul  himself"  ^  Moreover,  with  a  few  excep- 
tions, due  to  the  variety  of  sources,  oral  or  written,  from 
which  the  author  drew,  the  book  has  a  natural  wiity  of 
diction  and  style  which  forbids  us  to  assign  it  to  more  than 
one  author,  and  its  several  parts  are  so  interlaced  by  corre- 


1  xvi.    i8  (Paul  casting  out  the  spirit  Ixxxix.  20,  its  addition   of  the   phrase 

of    divination    at    Philippi).      xvi.    26:  "  son  of  Jesse,"  and  its  allusion  to  the 

"  And  suddenly  there  was  a  great  earth-  divine  testimony.     The  resemblance  is 

quake,  so  that  the  foundations   of   the  best  seen  by  a  comparison  of  the  original 

prison-house  were  shaken  :  and  immedi-  in  each  case.    T/  5e  dirwjxiv  eirl  tcJ}  fiefi- 

ately  all    the  doors   were   opened;   and  apTvprj/ievijiAaveid;  wpos  6v  direv  oQeos' 

every  one's  bands  were  loosed."     xxviii.  "  Evpou  &vdpa  Kara  rrjv  Kapdiav  /ioi', 

8,  9:    "And  it  was  so,  that  the  father  ^aveld  top  rod  'l€<T<Tai,  iv  ^Xeei  alcoviip 

of  Pubhus  lay  sick  of  fever  and  dysen-  «            avrSy."     (CI.  Ep.  I.  c.  i8.)—Kal 

tery :  unto  whom  Paul  entered  m,  and  ^^        ,           <    •      Ji                '     a       -» 

prayed,  and  laymg  his  hands   on  hmi  '^,     ,     ',    _       >-       »        i     t 

healed  him.      And  when  this  was  done,  "^'^"'^  ^cs^^aai\,a,  ^   Kal   dTre^  fMaprvp. 

the  rest  also  which  had  diseases  in  the  V^as,    hvpoy    AaveiS   tov  tov     leaaal, 

island  came,  and  were  cured."  dvdpa  Kara  ttjv  Kapdiay  ^lov,  3s  iroiricrei. 

"^  E.g.  in  Clement's  i  Ep.  xxdii.  there  iravTaTaOiX-qfiaTo.  fiov.     (Acts  xiii.  22.) 

is  a  reproduction  of  Acts  xiii.  22,  in  its  *  Professor  Ramsay,    The  Church  in 

combination  of  i  Sara.  xiii.  14  and  Ps.  ihe  Hainan  Empire,  p.  6. 


78 


Nczv  Testament  and  Its  Writer's.  vii. 


spending  observations  afid  alltisiojis  as  to  confirm  us  in  the 
belief  that  it  forms  one  consistent  whole.^ 

That  it  is  a  work  of  the  first  century  is  proved  by  the 
fact  that  it  does  not  contain  the  slightest  allusion  to  St. 
PauPs  epistles.  In  the  second  century  these  epistles 
were  so  widely  circulated  that  no  historian  giving  a  sketch 
of  Paul's  life-work  could  have  passed  them  over  in  silence. 
But  during  the  greater  part  of  the  period  covered  by 
the  Book  of  Acts  they  were  not  yet  in  existence  ;  and 
for  some  years  they  would  be  very  little  known  except 
in  the  Churches  to  which  they  were  addressed.  There  is 
no  notice  taken  of  them  in  the  Book  of  Acts,  nor  any  dis- 
tinct echo  of  their  teaching;  while  there  is  a  remarkable 
absence  of  information  on  several  important  points  men- 
tioned in  them,  which  would  naturally  have  called  for 
explanation  had  they  been  familiar  to  the  writer  of  this 
book.^ 

But  although  there  is  no  sign  of  acquaintance  with  the 
epistles  themselves,  there  are,  as  we  shall  see  when  we 
come  to  deal  with  these  writings,  many  "  tL7idesigned 
coincidences"  between  statements  contained  in  them  and 

1  Cf.  xxi.  8:    "And  on  the  morrow  with  water  ;    but   ye  shall  be  baptized 

we  departed,  and  came  unto  Ccesarea :  with  the  Holy  Ghost,"  a  saying  of  our 

and  entering  into  the  house  of  Philip  the  Lord's  being  thus  twice  quoted,  which 

evangelist,  who  was  one  of  the  seven,  does  not  occur  in  any  of  the  four  Gos- 

we    abode   with    him,"    with    previous  pels.    Cf.  (with  reference  to  God's  testi- 

statements  regarding  Philip  in  {a)  vi.  5  :  mony  in  favour  of  the  Gentiles  in  giving 

where  he  is  mentioned   as   one  of  the  them  the  Holy  Ghost)  x.  47 :   "  Can  any 

"seven  men"  chosen,   and  (1^)  viii.  40  man  forbid  the  water,  that  these  should 

"  But  Philip  was  found  at  Azotus  :    and  not  be  baptized,  which  have  received  the 

passing  through  he  preached  the  gospel  Holy  Ghost  as  well  as  we?"   and  xv.  8  : 

toall  the  cities,  till  he  came  to  Caesarea."  "And  God,  which  knoweth  the  heart, 

C/".  xxii.  20  :   "  And  when  the  blood  of  bare  them  witness,  giving  them  the  Holy 

Stephen  thy  witness  was  shed,    I  also  Ghost,  even  as  he  did  unto  us."     Cf. 

was  standing  by,  and  consenting,  and  (with  reference  to  Paul's  stay  at  Tarsus 

keeping  the  garments  of  them  that  slew  after    his    conversion)    ix.    30:     "And 

him,"  with  previous  statements  on  this  when  the  brethren  knew  it,  they  brought 

subject  in  (rt)  vii.  58:  "And  the  witnesses  him   down  to   Caesarea,   and  sent  him 

laid  down  their  garments  at  the  feet  of  a  forth  to  Tarsus  "  ;  and  xi.  25  :   "  And  he 

young  man  named  Saul,"  and  [b]  viii.  i  :  went  forth  to  Tarsus  to  seek  for  Saul." 

"And   Saul   was    consenting  unto   his  '^  E.g.  Gal.   i.   17  (with  reference  to 

death."     Cf.   i.    5:    "For  John  indeed  Paul's   visit     to    Arabia);    Gal.    ii.    11 

baptized  with   water;    but    ye  shall  be  (Paul's  controversy  with  Cephas,  when 

baptized  with  the  Holy  Ghost  not  many  he  "  resisted  him  to  the  face,  because 

days  hence,"  with  xi.   16:   "And  Ire-  he  stood  condemned";   2  Cor.  xi.  24: 

membered  the  word  of  the  Lord,  how  "Of  the   Jews   five    times    received   I 

that   he    said,    John    indeed    baptized  forty  stripes  save  one." 


VII.  The  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  79 

in  the  Book  of  Acts,  which  can  only  be  accounted  for  by 
the  fact  that  the  writers  in  both  cases  were  guided  by  a 
strict  regard  for  truth. 

It  has  also  to  be  noted  that  while  there  is  no  sign  of 
acquaintance  with  Paul's  letters,  there  is  in  the  speeches 
attributed  to  him  an  admitted  resemblance  to  his  style  and 
diction,  which  is  best  accounted  for  by  the  writer's  having 
been  present  at  the  delivery  of  the  speeches,  or  having 
received  an  authentic  report  of  them.  It  is  interesting 
in  this  connection  to  observe  that  the  speech  which  Paul 
delivered  in  Hebreiv  on  the  stairs  of  the  castle  in 
Jerusalem,^  and  which  was  no  doubt  translated  into  its 
present  Greek  form  by  Luke  (judging  from  the  number 
of  Luke's  favourite  words  to  be  found  in  it),  is  far  less 
Pauline  in  character  than  the  speech  at  Athens,  which  was 
spoken  in  Greek,  and  was  in  all  probability  reported  to  Luke 
by  Paul  himself'}  We  may  add  that  this  latter  speech  is 
not  only  Pauline  in  its  diction,  but  reflects  very  plainly 
the  apostle's  training  in  the  schools  of  Tarsus,  where  the 
Stoic  philosophy  was  in  great  repute.'^ 

We  have  a  similar  token  of  genuineness  in  the  harmony 
between  the  speeches  of  Peter  reported  in  this  book  and  the 
first  epistle  written  by  that  apostle.'* 

Of  the  writer's  accuracy  in  matters  of  fact  abundant 
evidence  can  be  adduced.  In  the  titles  which  he  gives  to 
the  magistrates  of  the  various  cities  he  has  occasion  to 
mention,  he  is  supported  by  the  testimony  of  ancient 
writings,   coins,    and    inscriptions,  in    a   most    remarkable 

1  xxii.i-2i.  2  xvii.   22-31.  lawless    men    did    crucify   and   slay"; 

s  xvii.  26-28:   "And  he  made  of  one  and    iv.    28:    "To   do   whatsoever  thy 

every  nation  of  men  for  to  dwell  on  all  hand  and  thy  counsel  foreordained  to 

the  face  of  the  earth,  having  determined  come    to    pass,"    with    i  Pet.    i.   i,  2: 

their  appointed  seasons,  and  the  bounds  "Elect    .  .   .    according    to    the    fore- 

of  their   habitation  ;    that   they  should  knowledge   of  God    the   Father,"   and 

seek  God,  if  haply  they  might  feel  after  i.    20:    "Christ    who    was    foreknown 

him,  and   find   him,  though   he  is  not  indeed   before   the    foundation   of    tlie 

far  from  each  one  of  us  :  for  in  him  we  world."     Cf.  also  Acts  iv.   11  :   "  He  is 

live,  and  move,  and  have  our  being  ;  as  the   stone  which  was   set  at  nought  of 

certain  even   of  your   own   poets   have  you  the  builders,  which  was  made  the 

said.  For  we  are  also  his  offspring."  head   of    the   corner,"   with    i    Pet.   ii. 

^  Cf.   ii.   23:    "Him,  being  delivered  4-8:    "Unto   whom    coming,    a   living 

up  by  the  determinate  counsel  and  fore-  stone,  rejected  indeed  of  men,  but  with 

knowledge  of  God,  ye  by  the  hands  of  God  elect,  precious,"  &c. 


So 


New  Testament  and  Its  Writer's. 


VII. 


manner;  e.g.  the  name  of  politarchs  ("rulers  of  the 
city"),  which  he  applies  to  the  magistrates  of  Thessa- 
lonica,  though  otherwise  unknown,  has  been  discovered  on 
an  arch  still  in  comparatively  good  preservation  in  the 
principal  street  of  the  city.^  His  many  allusions  also  to 
historical  characters  and  conditions  that  are  otherwise  known 
to  us,  are  almost  invariably  found  to  be  true  to  fact  ;2  while 
the  precision  of  his  nautical  expressions  and  minute  geo- 
grapJiical  allusions  in  his  account  of  Paul's  voyage  and 
shipwreck,  has  been  found  so  remarkable  as  to  form  the 
subject  of  a  special  dissertation.^ 

As  a  last  token  of  genuineness  may  be  mentioned  the 
fact  that  in  the  Book  of  Acts  the  positions  taken  up  by 


1  xvii.  6.  Similar  instances  are  found 
at  xiii.  7:  "with  the  proconsul"  (r^S 
a.vQxma.7ijf^,  a  title  which  can  be  proved 
from  Strabo  and  Dion  Cassius,  as  well 
as  from  inscriptions,  to  have  been  borne 
by  the  governor  of  Cyprus  at  the  time 
referred  to  ;  xvi.  20:  "unto  the  magis- 
trates," a  name  which  in  the  original 
(rots  <STpaT'r\-sjo'l%)  is  suspiciously  grand 
for  the  rulers  of  Philippi  to  possess, 
but  which,  Cicero  tells  us,  was  claimed 
by  a  provincial  city  in  Italy  (Capua), 
in  its  Latin  form  (pra;tores);  xviii. 
12  :  ''  But  when  Gallio  was  proconsul 
of  Achaia"  {a.vdvKiXTOv  ovtos),  a  title 
which  would  have  been  inaccurate 
in  the  reign  of  Tiberius  or  Nero,  but 
was  correct  at  the  time  referred  to,  viz., 
the  reign  of  Claudius  ;  xxviii.  7  :  "  The 
chief  man  {rif  irpuTui)  of  the  island  (of 
Melita),"  an  unusual  designation,  but 
confirmed  in  this  case  by  inscriptions  ; 
xvi.  12  :  "Philippi,  a  Roman  colony," 
a  statement  confirmed  by  Dion  Cassius. 

^  E.g.  in  his  references  to  Gamaliel, 
Herod  Agrippa  I.,  Agrippa  II.  and 
his  sisters  Berenice  and  Drusilla,  the 
governor  Felix,  Gallio  (brother  of 
Seneca),  the  famine  and  expulsion  of 
the  Jews  in  the  reign  of  Claudius  Cagsar, 
the  dyeing  trade  of  Thyatira,  the 
classical  legends  and  native  speech  of 
Lycaonia,  the  magical  arts  and  idola- 
trous usages  of  Ephesus,  with  its  public 
buildings  and  municipal  institutions, 
with  regard  to  which  modern  excava- 
tions have  confirmed  many  minute 
allusions  in  the  Book  of  Acts.     Referring 


to  the  story  of  the  tumult  in  the  temple 
of  Diana,  Professor  Ramsay  says, 
"  There  is  only  one  way  of  interpreting 
it,  and  that  is  as  embodying  almost, 
if  not  absolutely,  verbati7ti,  the  words 
of  an  eye-witness."  The  same  writer 
finds  in  the  language  of  xiv.  6,  "  they 
fled  unto  the  cities  of  Lycaonia,  Lystra 
and  Derbe "  [i.e.  from  Iconium),  a 
remarkable  evidence  of  sympathy  with 
local  feeling ;  for,  while  Iconium  had 
itself  become  a  city  of  Lycaonia  long 
before  the  apostle's  day,  its  inhabitants, 
as  we  learn  from  one  or  two  casual 
references  in  later  writings,  still  claimed 
to  be  Phrygians,  and  would  naturally 
use  such  language  as  is  here  reproduced, 
in  directing  Paul  to  Lystra  and  Derbe. 
Professor  Ramsay  also  finds  in  the 
apostle's  experiences  at  these  and  other 
cities  of  Asia  Minor,  subtle  traits  of 
harmony  with  the  laws  and  customs  of 
the  period  in  that  part  of  the  Roman 
empire.  He  further  remarks  that  the 
importance  assigned  to  the  south 
Galatian  Churches,  in  chaps,  xiii.,  xiv., 
"is  historically  true  to  the  period  48- 
64  A.D.  and  not  to  later  time";  and, 
referring  to  the  mention  of  "  the 
devout  women  of  honourable  estate" 
at  Antioch  (xiii.  50),  he  says,  "The 
honours  and  influence  which  belonged 
to  women  in  the  cities  of  Asia  Minor 
form  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
features  in  the  history  of  the  country." 

3  "  Voyage  and  Shipwreck  of  St. 
Paul."  By  James  Smith,  Esq.,  F. R.S., 
of  Jordanhill. 


VII.  The  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  8i 

the  Pharisees  and  Sadducees  respectively  with  reference 
to  Christ's  cause  are  almost  tJie  reverse  of  zuhat  they  are 
in  the  Gospel.  This  change  of  attitude  was  due  to  the 
apostles'  preaching  of  the  Resurrection,  after  their  Master's 
departure,  which  was  fitted  to  give  offence  to  the  Sadducees 
alone  ;  but  it  is  a  circumstance  which  only  a  contemporary 
would  have  been  likely  to  realise  and  represent  in  such  a 
vivid  manner.^ 

2.  Date  of  Composition. 
With  regard  to  the  date  of  its  composition,  its  abrupt 
termination — leaving  us  in  ignorance  of  Paul's  fate,  and  of 
his  subsequent  labours  (if  he  was  .  set  free  from  his 
imprisonment  at  Rome) — has  led  some  to  suppose  that 
the  author  brought  up  his  narrative  to  the  very  moment 
when  he  closed  the  book  and  despatched  it  to  his  friend 
Theophilus.  In  that  case  it  must  have  left  the  writer's 
hands  about  ^l  A.D.  But  it  may  be  that  the  work  was 
broken  off  owing  to  Luke's  death,  or  he  may  have  had  it 
in  view  to  complete  his  narrative  in  another  volume,  or  he 
may  have  felt  it  dangerous  to  go  farther.  Yet  another 
view  is  that  the  apostle's  preaching  at  Rome  was  purposely 
selected  by  the  writer  as  a  suitable  finish  to  his  narrative 
of  the  Chwrch's  progress.  On  the  whole,  we  may  be 
content  with  the  assurance  that  it  was  written  by  a  con- 
temporary and  companion  of  the  apostle. 

3.   C/iai'acter  and  Contents. 
The  key)iote  of  the  book  is  struck  in  the  commission 
given  by  the  risen  Lord  to  His  apostles  :  "  Ye  shall  receive 

1  iv.  1-3:  "And  as  they  (i.e.  the  and  put  them  in  public  ward.  .  .  . 
apostles)  spake  unto  the  people,  the  But  there  stood  up  one  in  the  council, 
priests  and  the  captain  of  the  temple  a  Pharisee,  named  Gamaliel  .  .  .  And 
and  the  Sadducees  came  upon  them,  he  said  unto  them  .  .  .  Refrain  from 
being  sore  troubled  because  they  taught  these  men,  and  let  them  alone  "  ;  xv. 
the  people,  and  proclaimed  in  Jesus  the  5  :  "  Certain  of  the  sect  of  the  Pharisees 
resurrection  from  the  dead.  And  they  who  believed";  xxiii.  6-10:  "... 
laid  hands  on  them,  and  put  them  in  there  arose  a  dissension  between  the 
ward  unto  the  morrow :  for  it  was  now  Pharisees  and  Sadducees  :  and  the 
even-tide";  v.  17-40:  "But  the  high  assembly  was  divided.  For  the  Sad- 
priest  rose  up,  and  all  they  that  were  ducees  say  that  there  is  no  resurrection 
with  him  (which  is  the  sect  of  the  neither  angel,  nor  spirit :  but  the  Pha- 
Sadducees),  and  they  were  filled  with  risees  confess  both.  ..." 
jealousy,  and  laid  hands  on  the  apostles, 


82 


Neiv  Testament  and  Its  Writers. 


VII. 


power,  when  the  Holy  Ghost  is  come  upon  you  :  and  ye 
shall  be  my  witnesses,  both  in  Jerusalem,  and  in  all 
Judffia,  and  Samaria,  and  unto  the  uttermost  part  of  the 
earth."^  The  entire  book  records  the  fulfilment  of  this 
prophecy.  It  may  be  roughly  divided  into  three  parts, 
corresponding  to  the  widening  spheres  of  labour  which  were 
thus  indicated — "Jerusalem"  (i.13 — vii.) ;  "  all  Judaea  and 
Samaria  "  (viii. — ix.) ;  "  unto  the  uttermost  part  of  the 
earth  "  (x. — xxviii.).  Each  of  the  three  is  marked  by  a 
notable  outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit.'^ 

Throughout  the  whole  narrative  prominence  is  given  to 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  the  subject  of  apostolic  testimony,^ 
as  the  bestower  of  the  Holy  Spirit  with  miraculous  gifts, 
and  divine  guidance,^  as  personally  visible  to  the  martyr 
Stephen,^  and  as  the  personal  agent  in  Paul's  conversion.'^ 


2  ii.  1-4  (in  Jerusalem  on  the  day  of 
Pentecost) ;  viii.  17  (in  Samaria  by  the 
hands  of  Peter  and  John);  x.  44-48 
(in  Ceesarea,  on  the  preaching  of  the 
Gospel  to  the  Roman  centurion). 

•^  ii.  32:  "This  Jesus  did  God  raise 
up,  whereof  we  all  are  witnesses " 
(Peter's  address  on  day  of  Pentecost) ; 
iii.  13-15:  "The  God  of  Abraham, 
and  of  Isaac,  and  of  Jacob,  the  God  of 
our  fathers,  hath  glorified  his  Servant 
Jesus ;  whom  ye  delivered  up,  and 
denied  before  the  face  of  Pilate,  when 
he  had  determined  to  release  him.  But 
ye  denied  the  Holy  and  Righteous 
One,  and  asked  for  a  murderer  to  be 
granted  unto  you,  and  killed  the  Prince 
of  life ;  whom  God  raised  from  the 
dead ;  whereof  we  are  witnesses " 
(Peter's  speech  in  the  temple) ;  v.  30- 
32  :  "  The  God  of  our  fathers  raised 
up  Jesus,  whom  ye  slew,  hanging  him 
on  a  tree.  Him  did  God  exalt  with 
his  right  hand  to  be  a  Prince  and  a 
Saviour,  for  to  give  repentance  to 
Israel,  and  remission  of  sins.  And 
we  are  witnesses  of  these  things ;  and 
so  is  the  Holy  Ghost  whom  God  hath 
given  to  them  that  obey  him"  (Peter 
and  the  apostles  before  the  Jewish 
council);  v.  42:  "And  every  day,  in 
the  temple  and  at  home,  they  ceased 
not  to  teach  and  to  preach  Jesus  as 
the  Christ  "  ;  viii.  5  :  "And  Philip  went 
down  to  the  city  of  Samaria,  and  pro- 
claimed unto  them  the  Christ " ;  x. 
36-42  :  ' '  The  word  which  he  sent  unto 


the  children  of  Israel,  preaching  good 
tidings  of  peace  by  Jesus  Christ  (he  is 
Lord  of  all).  .  ."  (Peter's  address  at 
Cassarea). 

■*  ii.  33:  "Being  therefore  by  the 
right  hand  of  God  exalted,  and  having 
received  of  the  Father  the  promise  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,  he  (Jesus)  hath  poured 
forth  this,  which  ye  see  and  hear"; 
iii.  16:  "And  by  faith  in  his  (Jesus') 
name  hath  his  name  made  this  man 
strong,  whom  ye  behold  and  know : 
yea,  the  faith  which  is  through  him 
hath  given  him  this  perfect  soundness 
in  the  presence  of  you  all";  ix.  34: 
"And  Peter  said  unto  him,  .i€ineas, 
Jesus  Christ  healeth  thee :  arise,  and 
make  thy  bed";  i.  24 :  "And  they 
prayed,  and  said,  Thou,  Lord,  which 
knowest  the  hearts  of  all  men,  shew 
of  these  two  the  one  whom  thou  hast 
chosen";  x,  19,20:  "And  while  Peter 
thought  on  the  vision,  the  Spirit  said 
unto  him,  Behold,  three  men  seek  thee. 
But  arise,  and  get  thee  down,  and  go 
with  them,  nothing  doubting:  for  I 
have  sent  them";  xvi.  6-10:  "And 
they  went  through  the  region  of  Phry- 
gia  and  Galatia,  having  been  forbidden 
of  the  Holy  Ghost  to  speak  the  word 
in  Asia.  ..." 

5  vii.  56:  "And  (Stephen)  said.  Be- 
hold, I  see  the  heavens  opened,  and  the 
Son  of  man  standing  on  the  right  hand 
of  God." 

6  ix.  3-6:  ".  .  .  Saul,  Saul,  why 
persecutest  thou  me?  And  he  said. 
Who  art  thou.  Lord  ?    And  he  said,  I 


VII.  The  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  83 

There  is  great  significance  in  the  description  of  Luke's 
Gospel,  given  in  the  opening  verse  of  this  book,  as  a 
treatise  "concerning  all  that  Jesus  began  both  to  do  and 
to  teach,  until  the  day  in  which  he  was  received  up." 
The  position  of  the  word  "  began "  is  very  emphatic  in 
the  original,  as  if  to  imply  that  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles 
formed  a  continuation  of  CJirisfs  zvork.  The  writer 
conceives  of  Him  as  still  carrying  on  His  work  in  virtue 
of  His  Resurrection  and  Ascension  ;  and  in  the  introduc- 
tion to  the  book  he  refers  to  these  events  as  well  as  to 
the  prediction  of  His  second  Advent.^" 

The  continuity  of  the  divine  work  is  indeed  the  ruling 
idea  of  the  whole  book.  The  Gospel  kingdom  is  de- 
scribed as  advancing  steadily  onwards,  beginning  at 
Jerusalem  (in  the  same  upper  room,  perhaps,  as  had 
been  the  scene  of  the  Last  Supper),^  and  extending 
finally  to  Rome,  the  great  metropolis  of  the  Gentiles. 
More  than  half  the  book  is  devoted  to  the  labours  of 
the  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles,  and  three  of  his  missionary 
journeys  are  recorded^ — with  Antioch  for  his  headquarters, 
where  the  "disciples  were  first  called  Christians."^ 

am  Jesus  whom  thou  persecutest :  but  so  come  in  like  manner  as  ye  beheld 

rise,   and   enter   into   the   city,    and   it  him  going  into  heaven." 

shall    be    told    thee   what    thou  must  ^  j.  j^  :  "And  when  they  were  come 

do."  in,  they  went  up  into  the  upper  chamber, 

1  i.    i-ii :    "The  former    treatise    I  where  they  were  abiding";  Luke  xxii. 

made,    O    Theophilus,    concerning    all  12,  13:   "And_he  will  shew  you  a  large 

that   Jesus   began   both   to   do  and  to  upper    room    furnished :     there     make 

teach,  until   the  day  in   which  he  was  ready.     And  they  went,  and  found  as 

received   up,  after   that   he  had   given  he  had  said  unto  them  :  and  they  made 

commandment  through  the  Holy  Ghost  ready  the  passover." 

unto  the  apostles  whom  he  had  chosen:  ^  (i)  ^iii.,  xiv.  ;    (2)    xv.  36 — xviii.  22  ; 

to  whom  he  also  shewed  himself  alive  (3)  xviii.  23 — xxi.17. 

after  his  Passion  by  many  proofs,  ap-  ■*  xi.     26.       The     name    'Kpicrrtavos 

pearing   unto    them    by    the   space   of  (Christian),    it   has    been    observed,    is 

forty   days,    and   speaking    the    things  symbolic  of  the  catholic  nature  of  the 

concerning  the  kingdom  of  God  :  and,  Christian  religion,   being   derived  orig- 

being  assembled  together   with   them,       ;     n     r  .u      ilt  l  j    n*rvn 

UK         j.u  ..J         if  mally   from   the  Hebrew   word    ''  t^« 

he  charged   them    not   to   depart  from  -'  ^    ...^.u    .    .  ^ 

Jerusalem,  but  to  wait  for  the  promise  (Messiah — the  Anointed)  translated  into 

of  the  Father,  which,  said  he,  ye  heard  the  Greek  Xptaros  (Christ),  and  being 

from   me :    .  .  .  And  while  they  were  connected   with   the   Roman   world  by 

looking  stedfastly   into   heaven    as   he  its   Latiri   termination.      We   have  an 

went,  behold,  two  men  stood  by  them  interesting  coincidence  in  the  fact  that 

in  white  apparel ;  which  also  said,  Ye  the  title  which  was  put  upon  the  Cross 

men  of  Galilee,  why  stand  ye  looking  "Jesus   of  Nazareth,  the  King  of  the 

into  heaven?    this    Jesus,    which    was  Jews ""  was  written  in  Hebrew,  and  in 

received  up  from  you  into  heaven,  shall  Latin,  and  in  Greek  "  (John  xix.  19,  20). 


84  New  Testament  and  Its  Writers.  vii. 

Of  necessity  it  is  a  mere  selection  of  incidents  that  is 
given,  both  as  regards  the  labours  of  Paul,^  and  the 
history  of  the  Church  during  the  thirty-three  years 
or  more  over  which  the  book  extends.  The  selection 
was  no  doubt  determined  partly  by  the  information 
which  Luke  had  gathered  from  his  own  observation 
as  an  eye-witness  or  from  trustworthy  reporters,^  and 
partly  by  the  great  object  he  had  in  view,  namely,  to 
trace  the  gradual  expansion  of  the  Church  from  its  first 
beginnings^  as  a  seeming  phase  of  Judaism  to  its  full 
development  as  a  catholic  communion,  in  which  there 
was  to  be  no  distinction  between  Jew  and  Gentile  and 
where  the  Law,  on  which  the  former  prided  himself  so 
greatly,  was  to  be  superseded  by  the  grace^  of  God 
freely  offered  in  the  Gospel. 

^  Cf.   the    apostle's  enumeration    of  ^  "  it  tells  us   of  the   first   apostolic 

his  trials  and  vicissitudes  in  2  Cor.  xi.  miracle  ;    the    first    apostolic  sermon  ; 

24-27.  the    first    beginnings    of   ecclesiastical 

2  E.g.  the  account  of  the  mission  in  organisation  ;  the  first  persecution  ; 
Samaria  and  elsewhere  in  chap.  viii.  the  first  martyr  ;  the  first  Gentile  con- 
would,  no  doubt,  be  mainly  derived  vert ;  the  first  ecclesiastical  synod  ;  the 
from  Philip,  with  whom  the  writer  first  mission  journey  ;  the  first  Euro- 
(xxi.  8-10)  had  spent  many  days  at  pean  church."  \^s.xx2iX,  Messages  of  the 
Caesarea,  which  had  also  been  the  scene  Books). 

of  the  notable  events  relating  to  the  ■*  X"^/"',  a  favourite  word  both  with 
admission  of  Cornelius  the  centurion,  St.  Luke  and  St.  Paul.  It  occurs  six- 
recorded  in  chap.  x.  teen  times  in  this  book. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE   EPISTLES. 

I.   The  Epistles  in  general. 

One  of  the  distinguishing  characteristics  of  the  New 
Testament  as  compared  with  all  other  sacred  books  in 
the  world  is  the  epistolary  character  of  a  large  part  of  its 
contents. 

It  contains  twenty-one  letters  by  six  different  authors. 
Nine  of  these  are  addressed  to  individual  Churches,  viz., 
I  and  2  Thessalonians,  i  and  2  Corinthians,  Galatians, 
Romans,  Philippians,  Colossians,  2  John  (see  chap,  xxiii.)  ; 
five  to  private  persons,  viz.,  Philemon,  i  and  2  Timothy, 
Titus,  3  John  ;  and  two  to  Hebrew  Christians,  viz., 
Hebrews  and  James  ;  the  remaining  five  being  of  a  more 
or  less  general  nature,  viz.,  Ephesians  (see  chap,  xvi.), 
I  and  2  Peter,  i  John,  and  Jude. 

Besides  these,  we  have  reason  to  believe  from  the  nature 
of  the  case  ^  as  well  as  from  special  allusions,  that  there 
Avere  otJier  apostolic  letters  ivhich  have  not  been  preserved? 
That  Providence  should  have  suff"ered  such  inspired 
writings  to  perish  is  in  no  degree  more  remarkable  than 
that  so  many  of  our  Lord's  own  words  should  have  passed 
into  oblivion  ;  and  we  can  readily  understand  that  during 
the  apostle's  lifetime  their  letters  were  less  prized  than 
after  their  death,  when  the  loss  of  any  of  their  writings  was 
seen  to  be  irreparable. 

1  2  Cor.  xi.  28  :  "  Beside  those  things  own  hand,  which  is  the  token  in  every 

that  are   without,  there  is   that   which  epistle:    so    I    write."     This   gives   the 

presseth  upon  me  daily,  anxiety  for  all  impression  that  the  apostle  had  already 

the  churches."  written  a  number  of  epistles,  although 

■^  I  Cor.  V.  9:   "I  wrote  unto  you  in  we   know   of  none   but   i  Thess.     But 

my   epistle.   ..."     2    Thess.    iii.    17  :  another    explanation    is     possible    (see 

''  ']"he  salutation  of  me  Paul  with  mine  p.  100,  7iote  i). 


86  New  Testament  and  Its  Writers.  viii. 

Although  most  of  the  epistles  were  written  at  an  earlier 
period  than  the  Gospels,  they  represent  in  general  a  more 
advanced  stage  of  Christian  theology.  In  the  epistles  we 
have  the  fruits  of  twenty  or  thirty  years'  reflection  on 
the  great  facts  and  elementary  truths  contained  in  the 
Synoptical  Gospels,  viewed  in  the  light  of  Christian 
experience  and  under  the  teaching  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
taking  of  the  things  that  are  Christ's  and  showing  them  to 
the  Church,  To  the  epistles  we  are  mainly  indebted  for 
our  knowledge  of  Christian  doctrine  on  such  subjects  as 
the  Trinity,  the  relations  of  Christ  to  the  human  race  and  to 
His  Church,  the  Atonement,  Justification  by  Faith,  and 
Sanctification  by  the  Holy  Spirit. 

But  while  largely  doctrinal  in  character,  most  of  the 
epistles  differ  very  considerably  from  formal  treatises, 
being  enlivened  with  personal  allusions,  and  dealing 
largely  with  questions  of  a  practical  nature. 

2.    The  Epistles  of  St.  Pazd. 

The  remark  just  made  applies  specially  to  the  epistles 
of  Paul,  which  had  their  rise  not  in  abstract  speculations, 
but  in  the  special  needs  and  circumstances  of  the  various 
Churches  to  which  they  were  addressed.  They  are  filled 
with  the  living  personality  of  the  writer,  and  lay  hold  so 
vividly  upon  the  reader's  sympathies,  that  they  have  been 
described  by  Luther  as  "  not  mere  dead  words,  but  living 
creatures  with  hands  and  feet." 

They  are  thirteen  in  number.  Their  composition 
ranges  over  a  period  of  about  fifteen  years,  the  earliest  of 
them  (i  and  2  Thessalonians)  having  been  written  about 
53  A.D.,  sixteen  years  after  the  apostle's  conversion  ;  the 
last  of  them  (the  pastoral  epistles  to  Titus  and  Timothy) 
very  near  the  close  of  his  life,  approaching  68  A.D. 

In  the  interval  were  produced  two  other  groups  of 
epistles — those  designed  to  vindicate  Paul's  apostolic 
authority,  and  preserve  the  Gospel  from  the  inroads  of 
Judaism,  viz.,  i  and  2  Corinthians,  Galatians,  and  Romans 


VI 1 1.  The  Epistles.  ^J 

(written  during  his  third  missionary  journey,  about  57-58 
A.D.),  and  the  Epistles  of  the  Imprisonment,  viz.,  Phil- 
ippians,  Colossians,  Philemon,  and  Ephesians,  written 
from  Rome  about  62-63  A.i). 

The  most  of  them  were  probably  collected  and  in  more 
or  less  general  use  in  the  Church  within  a  short  time  after 
the  apostle's  death,  as  we  may  infer  from  the  traces  of 
them  to  be  found  in  the  writings  of  Clement  of  Rome  (95 
A.D.),  Ignatius  (died  1 10-15  A.D.),  and  Polycarp  (died 
155  A.D.). 

In  our  New  Testament  the  Pauline  epistles  are  arranged 
according  to  their  length  and  importance,  but  there  is  an 
obvious  advantage  in  studying  them  in  their  chronological 
order,  as  it  enables  us  to  trace  the  progressive  development 
of  the  apostle's  theology  and  the  growth  of  his  literary 
style,  as  well  as  to  realise  the  circumstances  out  of  which 
the  epistles  successively  arose. 

It  is  a  circumstance  worth  noting  as  an  explanation  in 
some  measure  of  the  occasional  abruptness  and  irregularity 
of  the  apostle's  style  (and  perhaps  of  its  vivacity),  that  his 
letters  were  usually  written  by  an  amanuensis  to  dictation, 
— the  salutation  only  being  written  with  his  own  hand,  as  a 
token  of  genuineness.^ 

3.    The  ztndisputed  Epistles  of  St  Paul. 

I  and  2  Corinthians,  Romans,  and  Galatians  have  the 
distinction  of  being  almost  universally  admitted  to  be 
genuine  writings  of  Paul. 

This  admission  is  a  most  important  one  from  an 
evidential  point  of  view,  as  these  epistles  form  a  valuable 
historical  link  between  the  earliest  preaching  of  the  apostles 
and  the  composition  of  our  four  Gospels.     They  contain  a 


1  C/".  Rom.  xvi.  22  :   "  I  Tertius,  who  mine  own   hand";    2   Thess.   iii.    17: 

write    the    epistle,    salute    you    in   the  "  The  salutation  of  me  Paul  with  mine 

Lord"  ;  I  Cor.  xvi.  2t  and  Col.  iv.  18  :  own  hand,  which  is  the  token  in  every 

"  The  salutation  of  me  Paul  with  mine  epistle  :  so  I  write"  ;  Philemon,  ver.  19  : 

own  hand"  ;  Gal.  vi.  ti  :  "See  with  how  "I  Paul  write  it  with  mine  own  hand,  I 

large  letters  I  have  writtenunto  you  with  will  repay  it." 


88 


New  Testament  and  Its  Writers. 


VIIL 


great  many  references  to  detailed  matters  of  fact  mentioi 
in  the  Gospels/  and  prove  that  the  story  of  Christ's  de 


1  E.g.  (i)  Christ's  divine  iticania- 
fio7i  ;  Rom.  1.3,4:  "  his  Son,  who  was 
born  of  the  seed  of  David  according  to 
the  flesh,  who  was  declared  to  be  the 
Son  of  God  with  power,  according  to 
the  spirit  of  holiness,  by  the  resurrection 
of  the  dead ;  even  Jesus  Christ  our 
Lord"  ;  Rom.  viii.  3:  "For  what  the 
law  could  not  do,  in  that  it  was  weak 
through  the  flesh,  God,  sending  his 
own  Son  in  the  likeness  of  sinful  flesh  ;  " 
Rom.  ix.  5:  "Whose  are  the  fathers, 
and  of  whom  is  Christ  as  concerning 
the  flesh,  who  is  over  all,  God  blessed 
for  ever.  Amen  "  ;  i  Cor.  viii.  6  : 
'"Yet  to  us  there  is  one  God,  the 
Father,  of  whom  are  all  things,  and  we 
unto  him  ;  and  one  Lord,  Jesus  Christ, 
through  whom  are  all  things,  and  we 
through  him  "  ;  cf.  ver.  12  :  "And  thus, 
sinning  against  the  brethren,  and 
wounding  their  conscience  when  it  is 
weak,  ye  sin  against  Christ "  ;  Gal. 
iv.  4:  "But  when  the  fulness  of  the 
time  came,  God  sent  forth  his  Son,  born 
of  a  woman."  (2)  His  meek  and 
lowly  life;  Rom.  xv.  3:  "For  Christ 
also  pleased  not  himself;  but,  as  it  is 
written.  The  reproaches  of  them  that 
reproached  thee  fell  upon  me  "  ;  2  Cor. 
viii.  9  :  "  For  ye  know  the  grace  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that,  though  he  was 
rich,  yet  for  your  sakes  he  became  poor, 
that  ye  through  his  poverty  might 
become  rich  "  ;  2  Cor.  x.  i  :  "  Now  I 
Paul  myself  intreat  you  by  the  meekness 
and  gentleness  of  Christ"  ;  Gal.  iv.  4  ; 
"  Born  under  the  law."  (3)  His 
appoiiitment  of  apostles ;  Rom.  i.  5  : 
"  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord,  through  whom 
we  received  grace  and  apostleship,  unto 
obedience  of  faith  among  all  the  nations, 
for  his  name's  sake "  ;  i  Cor.  i.  i  : 
"  Paul,  called  to  be  an  apostle  of  Jesus 
Christ  through  the  will  of  God  "  ;  i  Cor. 
XV.  5:  "And  that  he  appeared  to 
Cephas ;  then  to  the  twelve " ;  Gal.  i. 
18,  19  :  "  Then  after  three  years  I  went 
up  to  Jerusalem  to  visit  Cephas,  and 
tarried  with  him  fifteen  days.  But 
other  of  the  apostles  saw  I  none,  save 
James  the  Lord's  brother"  ;  Gal.  ii.  9  : 
"James  and  Cephas  and  John,  they 
who  were  reputed  to  be  pillars."  (4) 
His  betrayal;  i  Cor.  xi.  23:  "The 
Lord  Jesus  in  the  night  in  which  he  was 
betrayed."  (5)  His  institution  [a)  of 
the   Lord's   Supper ;    1  Cor.   xi.  23-26  : 


(p.  89,  tiote  i);  I  Cor.  x.  16:  "The 
cup  of  blessing  which  we  bless,  is  it  not 
a  communion  of  the  blood  of  Christ  ? 
The  bread  which  we  break,  is  it  not  a 
communion  of  the  body  of  Christ?" 
{b)  of  Baptism ;  Rom.  vi.  3,  4 : 
"  Or  are  ye  ignorant  that  all  we  who 
were  baptized  into  Christ  Jesus  were 
baptized  into  his  death  ?  We  were 
buried  therefore  with  him  through 
baptism  into  death  :  that  like  as  Christ 
was  raised  from  the  dead  through  the 
glory  of  the  Father,  so  we  also  might 
walk  in  newness  of  life  "  ;  i  Cor.  i.  13- 
15:  "Is  Christ  divided?  was  Paul 
crucified  for  you?  or  were  ye  baptized 
into  the  name  of  Paul?  I  thank  God 
that  I  baptized  none  of  you,  save 
Crispus  and  Gaius ;  lest  any  man 
should  say  that  ye  were  baptized  into 
my  name  "  ;  Gal.  iii.  27  :  "  For  as  many 
of  you  as  were  baptized  into  Christ 
did  put  on  Christ  "  ;  (<:)  of  Preaching ; 
I  Cor.  i.  17  :  "  P^or  Christ  sent  me  not 
to  baptize,  but  to  preach  the  gospel"; 
I  Cor.  ix.  14:  "  Even  so  did  the  Lord 
ordain  that  they  which  proclaim  the 
gospel  should  live  of  the  gospel "  ;  cf. 
Luke  x.  7  :  "  The  labourer  is  worthy 
of  his  hire";  Rom.  i.  9  :  "  For  God 
is  my  witness,  whom  I  serve  in  my 
spirit  in  the  gospel  of  his  Son,  how 
unceasingly  I  make  mention  of  you, 
always  in  my  prayers  making  request." 
(6)  His  crucifixion  ;  i  Cor.  i.  23 : 
"  We  preach  Christ  crucified  "  ;  i  Cor. 
ii.  2:  "Jesus  Christ,  and  him  crucified"  ; 
I  Cor.  ii.  8  :  (a  mystery)  "  which 
none  of  the  rulers  of  this  world 
knoweth :  for  had  they  known  it,  they 
would  not  have  crucified  the  Lord  of 
glory";  i  Cor.  v.  7:  "For  our  pass- 
over  also  hath  been  sacrificed,  even 
Christ";  Gal.  iii.  13:  "Christ  re- 
deemed us  from  the  curse  of  the  law, 
having  become  a  curse  for  us  :  for  it  is 
written.  Cursed  is  every  one  that 
hangeth  on  a  tree."  (7)  His  resurrec- 
tion and  subsequent  appearances ; 
I  Cor.  XV.  1-20 :  (for  vers.  1-4  see  p. 
85,  note  i)  ;  5-7:  "He  appeared  to 
Cephas  [cf.  Luke  xxiv.  34)  :  then  to 
the  twelve  [cf.  John  xx.  19)  .  .  .  then 
to  all  the  apostles  "  [cf.  Acts  i.  3).  (8) 
His  ascension;  Rom.  viii.  34:  "It 
is  Christ  Jesus  that  died,  yea  rather, 
that  was  raised  from  the  dead,  who  is 
at  the   right   hand   of  God,   who   also 


VIII. 


The  Epistles. 


89 


and  resurrection,  as  told  in  the  four  Gospels,  was  the  chief 
theme  of  Paul's  preaching.^ 

With  regard  to  our  Lord's  resurrection  in  particular, 
they  prove  that  event  to  have  been  generally  believed  in 
by  the  Church  in  St  Paul's  time,  and  to  have  been  from  the 
first  the  basis  of  the  apostle's  preaching.'  They  also  imply 
the  exercise  of  supernatural  powers  by  the  apostle  himself, 


maketh  intercession  for  us  "  ;  and  (9) 
His  reign;  i  Cor.  i.  2,  3:  "Unto 
the  church  of  God  which  is  at  Corinth, 
even  them  that  are  sanctified  in  Christ 
Jesus,  called  to  be  saints,  with  all  that 
call  upon  the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  in  every  place,  their  Lord  and 
ours  :  Grace  to  you  and  peace  from  God 
our  Father  and  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  "  ; 
Rom.  xiv.  9:  "For  to  this  end  Christ 
died,  and  lived  again,  that  he  might  be 
Lord  of  both  the  dead  and  the  living." 
1  I  Cor.  .w.  1-4:  "Now  I  make 
known  unto  you,  brethren,  the  gospel 
which  I  preached  unto  you,  which  also 
ye  received,  wherein  also  ye  stand,  by 
which  also  ye  are  saved  ;  I  make  known, 
I  say,  in  what  words  I  preached  it  unto 
you,  if  ye  hold  it  fast,  except  ye  believed 
in  vain.  For  I  delivered  unto  you  first 
of  all  that  which  also  I  received,  how 
that  Christ  died  for  our  sins  according 
to  the  scriptures  ;  and  that  he  was 
buried  ;  and  that  he  hath  been  raised 
on  the  third  day  according  to  the 
scriptures;"  i  Cor.  xi.  23-26:  "For 
I  received  of  the  Lord  that  which 
also  I  delivered  unto  you,  how  that  the 
Lord  Jesus  in  the  night  in  which  he  was 
betrayed  took  bread  ;  and  when  he  had 
given  thanks,  he  brake  it,  and  said. 
This  is  my  body,  which  is  for  you  :  this 
do  in  remembrance  of  me.  In  like 
manneralso  the cup,aftersupper,  saying, 
This  cup  is  the  new  covenant  in  my 
blood  :  this  do,  as  oft  as  ye  drink  it,  in 
remembrance  of  me.  For  as  often  as  ye 
eat  this  bread,  and  drink  the  cup,  ye 
proclaim  the  Lord's  death  till  he  come  "  ; 
Rom.  vi.  8-1 1  :  "But  if  we  died  with 
Christ,  we  believe  that  we  shall  also  live 
with  him  ;  knowing  that  Christ  being 
raised  from  the  dead  dieth  no  more  ; 
death  no  more  hath  dominion  over  him. 
Vo\-  the  death  that  he  died,  he  died  unto 
sin  once :  but  the  life  that  he  liveth,  he 
liveth  unto  (jlod.  Even  so  reckon  ye  also 
yourselves  to  be  dead  unto  sin,  but  alive 
unto  God  in  Christ  Jesus"  ;  Rom.  viii.  34: 
"  Who  is  he  that  shall  condenm  ?     It  is 


Christ  Jesus  that  died,  yea  rather,  that 
was  raised  from  the  dead,  who  is  at  the 
right  hand  of  God,  who  also  maketh 
intercession  for  us  "  ;  x.  9  :  "  Because  if 
thou  shalt  confess  with  thy  mouth  Jesus 
as  Lord,  and  shalt  believe  in  thy  heart 
that  God  raised  him  from  the  dead,  thou 
shalt  be  saved";  xiv.  9:  "For  to  this 
end  Christ  died,  and  lived  again,  that  he 
might  be  Lord  of  both  the  dead  and  the 
living";  2  Cor.  v.  14,  15:  "For  the 
love  of  Christ  constraineth  us  ;  because 
we  thus  judge,  that  one  died  for  all, 
therefore  all  died  ;  and  lie  died  for  all, 
that  they  which  live  should  no  longer 
live  unto  themselves,  but  unto  him  who 
for  their  sakes  died  and  rose  again"; 
Gal.  iii.  i  :  "  O  foolish  Galatians,  who 
did  bewitch  you,  before  whose  eyes  Jesus 
Christ  was  openly  set  forth  crucified?" 

2  I  Cor.  XV.  1-4  (quoted  above,  note  i). 
vv,  12-17  :  "  Now  if  Christ  is  preached 
that  he  hath  been  raised  from  the  dead, 
how  say  some  among  you  that  there  is 
no  resurrection  of  the  dead  ?  But  if 
there  is  no  resurrection  of  the  dead, 
neither  hath  Christ  been  raised  ;  and  if 
Christ  hath  not  been  raised,  then  is  our 
preaching  vain,  your  faith  also  is  vain. 
Yea,  and  we  are  found  false  witnesses  of 
God  ;  because  we  witnessed  of  God  that 
he  raised  up  Christ :  whom  he  raised 
not  up,  if  so  be  that  the  dead  are  not 
raised.  For  if  the  dead  are  not  raised, 
neither  hath  Christ  been  raised  :  and 
if  Christ  hath  not  been  raised,  your 
faith  is  vain  ;  ye  are  yet  in  your  sins"  ; 
2  Cor.  iv.  14:  "Knowing  that 
he  which  raised  up  the  Lord  Jesus 
shall  raise  up  us  also  with  Jesus,  and 
shall  present  us  with  you"  ;  Rom.  i. 
4,5:  "  Who  was  declared  to  be  the  Son 
of  God  with  power,  according  to  the 
spirit  of  holiness,  by  the  resurrection  of 
the  dead  ;  even  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord, 
through  whom  we  received  grace  and 
apostleship,  unto  obedience  of  faith 
among  all  the  nations,  for  his  name's 
sake  "  ;  Rom.  iv.  24  :  "  But  for  our  sake 
also,  unto  whom  it  shall  be  reckoned. 


90  Nezv  Testament  and  Its  Writers.  viii. 

as  a  fact  generally  admitted  and  not  likely  to  be  called  in 
question  even  by  those  who  were  opposed  to  him/  and 
they  show  the  existence  in  the  Church  of  spiriUial gifts  on 
a  large  scale  and  with  many  well-defined  variations,  that 
were  commonly  regarded  as  the  result  of  supernatural 
influence.- 

We  are  thus  in  a  great  measure  independent  of  the 
four  Gospels  for  our  knoAvledge  of  the  original  truths  and 
principles  of  Christianity ;  and  we  have  in  the  epistles  a 
practical  refutation  of  the  inytJiical  theories  which  would 
attribute  the  supernatural  elements  in  our  Gospels  to  the 
gradual  growth  of  legend  in  the  Church. 

The  evidence  derived  from  the  epistles  is  all  the  more 
valuable  because  it  is  indirect,  the  letters  having  manifestly 
been  written  without  any  such  object  in  view.  It  has  to 
be  noted  too  that  they  are  addressed  to  several  independent 
communities  far  removed  from  one  another.  One  of  these 
communities  (the  Church  in  Rome)  had  received  its 
Christianity  from  another  source  than  the  apostle,  while  in 
the  two  others  (Corinth  and  Galatia)  there  were  opponents 

who  believe  on  him   that  raised  Jesus  For  what  is  there  wherein  ye  were  made 

our  Lord  from  the  dead  "  ;   Roln.  vi.  4  :  inferior   to   the  rest   of    the  churches, 

"  We   were  buried  therefore  with  him  except  it  be  that    I   myself  was  not  a 

through  baptism  into  death:  that  like  burden  to  you  ?  forgive  me  this  wrong  "  ; 

as   Christ   was   raised    from    the  dead  Gal.  iii.  5:  "  He  therefore  that  supplieth 

through  the  glory  of  the  Father,  so  we  to  you  the  Spirit,  and  worketh  miracles 

also  might  walk  in  newness  of  life"  ;  among  you,  doeth  he  it  by  the  works  of 

Gal.  i.  I  :  "  Paul,  an  apostle  (not  from  the  law,  or  by  the  hearing  of  faith?" 

men,  neither  through  man,  but  through  It  may  be  doubted  whether  the  apostle 

Jesus  Christ,  and  God  the  Father,  who  is  here  alluding  to  himself,   but  at  all 

raised  him  from  the  dead  ").  events   his   mode    of  expression  shows 

1  Rom.  XV.    18,  19:   "For  I  will  not  that  he  did  not  expect  the  supernatural 

dare  to  speak  of  any  things  save  those  facts  referred  to   would  for  a  moment 

which  Christ  wrought  through  me,  for  be  disputed. 

the  obedience  of  the  Gentiles,  by  word  "  i  Cor.  xii-xiv.  :   "...  For  to  one  is 

and    deed,  in  the  power  of  signs  and  given  through   the  Spirit   the   word  of 

wonders,    in    the    power   of    the    Holy  wisdom;  and  to   another   the  word  of 

Ghost  ;  so  that   from   Jerusalem,    and  knowledge,    according     to     the    same 

round   about   even    unto    Illyricum,    I  Spirit  :  to   another   faith,   in  the  same 

have    fully     preached     the    gospel     of  Spirit ;  and  to  another  gifts  of  healings, 

Christ";  2  Cor.  xii.  11-13:   "I  am  be-  in    the    one    Spirit;    and    to    another 

come  foolish  :  ye  compelled  me  ;  for  I  workings  of  miracles  ;    and  to  another 

ought  to  have  been  commended  of  you  :  prophecy;  and  to  another  discernings 

for  in   nothing  was  I  behind  the  very  of  spirits  :  to  another   divers   kinds  of 

chiefest  apostles,  though  I  am  nothing.  tongues  ;  and  to  another  the  interpreta- 

Truly   the    signs  of    an    apostle   were  tion  ■  of  tongues  :  but  all  these  worketh 

wrought  among  you  in  all  patience,  by  the  one  and  the  same  Spirit,  dividing  to 

signs  and  wonders  and  mighty  works.  each  one  severally  even  as  he  will.  .  .   ." 


VIII.  The  Epistles.  9 1 

to  criticise  his  statements,  as  well  as  friends  to  sympathise 
with  him.  In  these  circumstances  falsehood  or  error  with 
reference  to  important  matters  of  fact  was  extremely 
improbable.  To  this  we  may  add  that  the  letters  are 
evidently  the  productions  of  a  man  whose  sincerity  is  as 
great  as  his  intellectual  acuteness  and  sobriety  of  judgment, 
and  who,  from  his  early  association  with  the  Jewish 
authorities  at  Jerusalem,  was  in  a  position  to  know  all  that 
could  be  said  against  the  alleged  facts  of  Christianity. 

Altogether,  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  .that  a  study  of  these 
epistles  leads  inevitably  to  the  conclusion  that  Paul's 
gospel  had  the  same  historical  grotindivork  as  the  Gospel 
preached  at  the  present  day — that  groundwork  consisting 
of  the  same  essential  and  well-attested  facts  regarding 
Christ's  life  and  teaching  as  we  find  recorded  in  the  four 
Gospels. 

4.   St.  Paul's  previous  History. 

Regarding  the  previous  life  of  the  author,  the  following 
brief  statement  may  suffice.  Paul  (originally  called  Saul) 
was  born  within  a  few  years  after  our  Lord's  nativity,  in 
the  city  of  Tarsus  in  Cilicia,  a  famous  seat  of  classical 
learning.  His  father,  though  a  Roman  citizen,  was  of 
Hebrew  descent,  and  brought  up  his  son  in  the  strictest 
observance  of  the  Jewish  law.  Trained  at  Jerusalem  under 
the  renowned  Pharisaic  teacher  Gamaliel,  Saul  became 
thoroughly  versed  in  Rabbinical  literature,  and  was 
equally  distinguished  for  his  learning  and  his  zeal.  He 
was  among  the  earliest  and  fiercest  persecutors  of  the 
Christians,  whom  he  regarded  as  apostates  from  the 
religion  of  their  fathers  ;  and  it  was  while  he  was  on  his 
way  to  Damascus  in  the  execution  of  a  warrant  from  the 
high  priest  that  he  was  suddenly  converted  (about  37  A.D.) 
by  the  direct  interposition  of  the  risen  Christ.  From  Him 
he  received  a  special  commission  to  preach  the  Gospel  to 
the  Gentiles,  and  in  His  service  he  continued  with  unflinch- 
ing courage  and  devotion,  in  spite  of  calumny  and  persecu- 


92  New  Testament  and  Its  Writers.  viii. 

tion,  to  the  last  hour  of  his  life.  After  about  eight  years, 
spent  partly  in  retirement,  partly  in  preaching  in  Syria  and 
Cilicia,  he  joined  (about  44  A.D.)  his  old  friend  Barnabas, 
a  liberal-minded  apostle,  at  Antioch,  which  was  soon  to 
become  the  great  centre  of  missionary  enterprise  for  the 
early  Church.  In  company  with  Barnabas,  Paul  made  his 
first  missionary  journey  (about  48  A.D.),  through  Cyprus 
and  part  of  Asia  Minor,  and  attended  the  Council  at 
Jerusalem  (about  50  A.D.),  to  advocate  the  cause  of  the 
Gentile  converts  in  their  struggle  against  the  bigotry  of 
their  Jewish  brethren.  In  the  following  year  he  started 
on  his  second  and  more  extensive  missionary  tour,  in  the 
course  of  which,  under  the  divine  guidance,  he  crossed  over 
to  Europe,  founding  a  number  of  Churches  there,  among 
others  that  of  Thessalonica.  He  reached  Corinth  in  52 
A.D.,  from  which,  as  we  shall  presently  see,  he  wrote  the 
first  of  his  epistles  that  have  been  preserved  to  us,  namely 
I  and  2  Thessalonians. 


CHAPTER    IX. 

I    AND    2   THESSALONIANS. 

"THE   FIRST   EPISTLE   OF   PAUL  THE   APOSTLE 
TO   THE   THESSALONIANS." 

I.  Authorship. 

There  is  ample  external  evidence  to  prove  that  this  epistle 
was  acknowledged  to  be  a  genuine  writing  of  St  Paul  in 
the  second  quarter  of  the  second  century,  ^  while  ex- 
pressions apparently  borrowed  from  it  are  to  be  found  in 
writings  of  a  still  earlier  date.- 

The  few  critics,  headed  by  Baur,  who  have  called  its 
genuineness  in  question,  have  done  so  on  internal  grounds, 
alleging  against  it  both  its  likeness  and  its  unlikeness  to 
the  other  epistles  of  Paul.  But  its  wilikeness  is  satis- 
factorily accounted  for  by  the  comparatively  early  date  of 
its  composition,  and  the  very  exceptional  nature  of  the 
occasion  on  which  it  was  written ;  while  its  likeness  is 
largely  due  to  the  habit  of  repetition  which  is  a  marked 
characteristic  of  the  apostle,  and,  in  particular,  to  the 
germination,  at  this  early  period,  of  ideas  more  fully 
developed  in  his  subsequent  writings.-^  Moreover,  the 
resemblance  between  this  and  other  writings  of  St  Paul 
is  often  so  subtle  and  minute — depending  on  the  play 
of  personal  feeling  and  affection  for  his  converts,*  or  on 

1  It  is  expressly  quoted  by  Irenseus,  love  ;    and  for  a.   helmet,   the  hope  of 

Clement  of  Alexandria,  and  TertuUian  ;  salvation,"  with  the  description  of  the 

w;is   acknowledged   by    Marcion ;    and  Christian    panoply  in    Eph.    vi.    13-17 ; 

has  a  place  in  the  Muratorian  Canon,  also  the  apostle's  allusion  to  his  self- 

and  the  Old  Latin  and  Syriac  Versions.  denial   in  waiving   his  apostolic  rights 

^  Clement  of  Rome,  Barnabas,  Igna-  in  ii.   5-9,  with  the  fuller  assertion  of 

tius,  and  Polycarp.  these  rights  in  i  Cor.  ix.,  &c. 

^Compare,  for  example,  v.  8:    "But  ^  E.g.  ii.  17-20:    "But  we,  brethren, 

let  us,  since  we  are  of  the  day,  be  sober,  being    bereaved    of   yoti    for    a    short 

putting  on  the  breastplate  of  faith  and  season,  in  presence,  not  in  heart,  en- 


94 


New  Testavicnt  and  Its  Writers. 


IX. 


characteristic  peculiarities   of  style} — as   to   preclude   the 
idea  of  forgery. 

The  language  of  the  epistle  with  reference  to  tJie  second 
coining  of  Christ  is  also  at  variance  with  the  supposition  of 
foro-ery.  It  seems  to  imply  an  expectation  on  the  part  of 
the  apostle  that  he  would  live  to  see  that  event.^  But  such 
an  expectation  was  not  likely  to  be  introduced  by  a  forger 
when  it  had  already  been  falsified  by  the  apostle's  death, — 
as  it  must  have  been,  long  before  forgery  could  have  been 
successfully  attempted.     In  this  connection  we  may  also 


deavoured  the  more  exceedingly  to  see 
your  face  with  great  desire  :  because  we 
would  fain  have  come  unto  you,  I  Paul 
once  and  again  ;  and  Satan  hindered 
us.  For  what  is  our  hope,  or  joy,  or 
crown  of  glorying?  Are  not  even  ye, 
before  our  Lord  Jesus  at  his  coming? 
For  ye  are  our  glory  and  our  joy. "  Cf. 
Rom.  i.  13 ;  2  Cor.  i.  15,  16,  vii.  5-7  ; 
Phil.  ii.  27,  28. 

1  E.g.    ( I )    a    cursory    sequence     of 
thought    by   which    one   verse    or    ex- 
pression seems  to  grow  spontaneously 
out    of    another,    without    any    logical 
arrangement  on  the  part  of  the  writer, 
who  has  to  come   back  from   time  to 
time  to  the  main  point  from  which  he 
had  digressed,  resuming  sometimes  the 
very  phrase  he  had  used  at  the  point  of 
departure.      Of  this   tendency  to  "go 
off  at   a  word"  which  Paley  observed 
to  be  characteristic  of  St  Paul  (Horas 
Paulina;,  chap.  vi.  No.  3)  we  have  many 
instances,  more  or  less  marked,  in  this 
epistle,  as  in  i.  2-9  [cf.  Ephes.  i.  3-14), 
iii.  1-5.    (2)  The  combination  of  seeming 
contraries;    i.   6  ("having  received  the 
word    in    much   affliction,    with  joy   of 
the   Holy  Ghost"),   cf.  2  Cor.  vii.   10: 
"  For  godly  sorrow  worketh  repentance 
unto    salvation,    a    repentance    which 
bringeth   no  regret "  ;    2   Cor.   viii.    2 : 
"  in  much  proof  of  affliction  the  abund- 
ance of  their  joy  and  their  deep  poverty 
abounded  unto  the  riches  of  their  liberal- 
ity "  ;  Col.  i.  II :  "unto  all  patience  and 
long-suffering  with  joy."    (3)  Verbal  and 
Prepositional   contrasts,    with   frequent 
conjunction  of  Negative  and  Positive ; 
i.  5:    "how  that  our  gospel  came  not 
unto  you   in   word    only,    but   also   in 
power,  and  in  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  in 
much  assurance  ;  even  as  ye  know  what 
manner   of  men  we   shewed   ourselves 
toward   you   for    your   sake "    (ev  v)uv 


5i'  vfxa.s)  ;  ii.  4 :  "  For  our  exhortation 
is  not  of  error,  nor  of  uncleanness,  nor 
in  guile  "  {ovK  €KTr\dvr]s,  01)6^  e^  aKaOap- 
aias,  ovdk  kv  doXu))  ;  ii-  17  :  "being  be- 
reaved of  you  for  a  short  season,  in 
presence,  not  in  heart "  (vpoaibirui  ou 
KapSla) ;  iv.  7  :  "  For  God  called  us  not 
for  uncleanness,  but  in  sanctification  " 
(ou  yap  eKciXeffev  ^/^as  6  Oeos  eTrt  d/ca- 
dapa'ia  d\X'  ei'  a-y Lac tii^i)  ;  cf.  i  Cor.  iv. 
6  :  "  that  no  one  of  you  be  puffed  up  for 
the  one  against  the  other "  (iVa  p-T)  eh 
virkpTovevbs  (pvcnovaOe  Kararov  erepov); 
ver.  10  :  "  We  are  fools  for  Christ's  sake, 
but  ye  are  wise  in  Christ"  (■nj/j.e'cs  fxwpol 
diaXpiardv,  v/j.eTs  Se (ppovi.p.oiiv'Kpicrriji); 
ver.  19  :  "I  will  know,  not  the  word  of 
them  which  are  puffed  up,  but  the 
power "  ;  i  Cor.  v.  3 :  For  I  verily, 
being  absent  in  body  but  present  in 
spirit";  i  Cor.  viii.  6:  "of  whom  are 
all  things,  and  we  unto  him  "  (e^  oO  rd 
irdvTa,  Kal  TJ/xeis  els  avrov)  ;  2  Cor.  v. 
12:  "them  that  glory  in  appearance, 
and  not  in  heart "  {tovs  iv  ivpoadiiri^ 
Kavx<^P-evovs  Kal  /J.ri  iv  Kapdiq).  (For  a 
full  discussion  of  the  genuineness  of  this 
epistle,  see  Joweit,  Vol.  i.  pp.  15-26.) 

2  iv.  15-17:  "For  this  we  say  unto 
you  by  the  word  of  the  Lord,  that  we 
that  are  alive,  that  are  left  unto  the 
coming  of  the  Lord,  shall  in  no  wise 
precede  them  that  are  fallen  asleep.  For 
the  Lord  himself  shall  descend  from 
heaven,  with  a  shout,  with  the  voice  of 
the  archangel,  and  with  the  trump  of 
God  :  and  the  dead  in  Christ  shall  rise 
first :  then  we  that  are  alive,  that  are 
left,  shall  together  with  them  be  caught 
up  in  the  clouds,  to  meet  the  Lord  in 
the  air  :  and  so  shall  we  ever  be  with 
the  Lord." 


IX.  I   Thessalonians.  95 

note  tJie  apparent  discrepancy  between  the  statements  in  the 
Book  of  Acts  and  in  this  epistle,  regarding  the  movements 
of  Timothy,^  into  which  a  forger  depending  for  his  informa- 
tion on  the  Book  of  Acts,  would  not  have  been  likely  to 
fall,  and  which  can  only  be  accounted  for  by  supposing 
a  journey  of  Timothy  {from  Athens  or  Beroea  to  Thessa- 
lonica)  left  unrecorded  in  the  Book  of  Acts.  There  is  a 
similar  discrepancy  between  chapter  i.  9,  which  speaks  of 
the  converts  as  having  "  turned  from  idols,"  and  Acts 
xvii.  4,  as  the  latter  would  lead  us  to  suppose  that  the 
Church  of  Thessalonica  was  largely  composed  of  Jews  and 
proselytes."-  In  the  second  chapter  (vers.  17,  18)  there  is  a 
reference  to  the  apostle's  disappointment  in  not  being  able 
to  carry  out  his  intention  of  revisiting  his  converts,  but  such 
an  intention  is  nowhere  mentioned  in  the  Book  of  Acts. 
All  the  three  variations  may  be  regarded  as  a  proof  that 
the  epistle  was  written  independently  of  the  Acts,  and  that 
their  general  harmony  is  due  to  their  common  fidelity  to 
facts. 

2.  The  Readers. 
"Unto  the  Church  of  the  Thessalonians."  Thessalonica 
was  then,  as  it  is  still  (under  the  name  of  Saloniki),  an  im- 
portant mercantile  emporium,  at  the  head  of  the  Thermaic 
Gulf,  with  a  considerable  proportion  of  Jewish  inhabitants 
sharing  in  its  general  prosperity.  It  is  now  the  second 
city  of  European  Turkey  ;  in  the  time  of  the  apostle  it  was 
the  capital  of  Macedonia.     It  lay  in  the  neighbourhood  of 

1  Acts  xvii.   15,  16:   "But  they  that  -  "Andsome  of  them  were  persuaded, 

conducted  Paul  brought  him  as  far  as  and  consorted  with  Paul  and  Silas  ;  and 

Athens  :    and    receiving    a   command-  of  the  devout  Greeks  a  great  multitude, 

ment  unto  Silas  and  Timothy  that  they  and  of  the  chief  women    not   a   few." 

should  come  to  him  with  all  speed,  they  The  difficulty  may  be  met  by  adopting 

departed.     Now  while  Paul  waited  for  a  reading  that  is  found  in  some  MSS. , 

them  at  Athens  "  ;  Actsxviii.  i  :  "  After  and  is  followed  in  the  Vulgate,  namely, 

these  things  he  departed  from  Athens,  "of  the  devout   {i.e.,   proselytes)   and 

and  came  to  Corinth"  ;   i   Thess.  iii.  I,  the  Greeks  a  great  multitude,"  rwv  re 

2:   "Wherefore    when    we    could    no  ffe^ojj-^vwv  Kai  "EW'^uiov,  [cf.    ver.    17, 

longer  forbear,  we  thought  it  good  to  .^0??  'loviaioii  Kai  toIs  ffe^ofxevois)  ;  or 

be  left   behmd  at  Athens  alone  ;    and  by  supposing  that  the  apostle  preached 

sent  Imiothy.  our  brother  and  God  s  to  the  Gentiles  after  the  three  Sabbath 

mmister    m  the  gospel   of    Christ,   to  days  mentioned  in  Acts  xvii.  2. 
establish  you,  and  to  comfort  you  con- 
cerning your  faith." 


96  New  Testament  and  Its  Writers.  ix. 

Mount  Olympus,  the  fabled  home  of  the  gods,  and  was  a 
place  of  exile  for  Cicero,  who  tells  how  he  gazed  up  at  the 
sacred  summit,  but  saw  nothing  save  snow  and  ice. 

The  Church  of  Thessalonica  was  planted  by  St  Paul  in 
the  course  of  his  second  missionary  tour  in  52  A.D./  after  his 
memorable  visit  to  Philippi.  His  stay  in  the  city  seems  to 
have  been  short,  owing  to  a  rising  of  the  mob,  stirred  up 
against  him  by  the  Jews  ;  but  it  was  long  enough  for  the 
Philippians  to  send  "  once  and  again "  unto  his  need.^ 
Previously  he  had  been  earning  his  own  bread,^  doubtless 
in  the  exercise  of  his  calling  as  tent-maker,"*  as  "  one  of  the 
staple  manufactures  of  the  city  was  and  is  goats'-hair  cloth. 
The  sound  that  follows  the  ear  as  one  walks  through  the 
streets  of  Saloniki  to-day  is  the  wheezing  and  straining 
vibration  of  the  loom  and  the  pendulum-like  click  of  the 
regular  and  ceaseless  shuttle."  Paul  paid  a  second  visit  to 
the  place  shortly  before  his  last  journe}^  to  Jerusalem. 
The  Church  was  mainly  Gentile  in  its  composition,  as  we 
may  infer  not  only  from  its  members  having  "  turned  unto 
God  from  idols,"  ^  but  also  from  the  fact  that  the  epistles 
addressed  to  it  do  not  contain  a  single  quotation  from  the 
Old  Testament. 

Thessalonica  played  a  great  part  in  the  history  of  Chris- 
tendom, as  a  bulwark  against  the  Turks,  whence  it  was 
known  as  the  Orthodox  city.  Its  modern  population 
(about  90,000)  consists  chiefly  of  Mohammedans  and  Jews, 
and  includes  but  a  small  number  of  Christians. 

3.  Date  and  Place  of  Coinpositwn. 

From  the  epistle  itself  we  learn  that  it  was  written  on 
the  return  of  Timothy,  whom  Paul  had  sent  (apparently 
from  Athens)  to  revisit  the  Thessalonian  Church.*"     But  the 

1  Acts  xvii.  i-ii.  5  i.  9. 

2  Phil.  iv.  16.  fi  iii.     1-9:     "Wherefore    when     we 

3  ii.  9  :  "  For  ye  remember,  brethren,  could  no  longer  forbear,  we  thought  it 
our  labour  and  travail :  working  night  good  to  be  left  behind  at  Athens  alone  ; 
and  day,  that  we  might  not  burden  any  and  sent  Timothy,  our  brother  and 
of  you,  we  preached  unto  you  the  gospel  God's  minister  in  the  gospel  of  Christ, 
of  God";  2  Thess.  iii.  7,  8.  to  establish  you,   and   to   comfort  you 

•4  Acts  xviii.  3.  concerning  your  faith.   .  .  .   But  when 


IX.  I  Thessalonians.  97 

Book  of  Acts^  informs  us  that  Silas  and  Timothy  rejoined 
the  apostle  during  his  stay  of  a  year  and  a  half  at  Corinth. 
We  conclude  therefore  that  the  epistle  was  written  from 
that  city, — not  long  after  the  apostle's  arrival,  as  we  may 
infer  from  his  language  in  ii.  17  :  "  But  we,  brethren,  being 
bereaved  of  you  for  a  short  season,  in  presence,  not  in 
heart."  2  This  would  be  about  53  A.D.,  probably  early  in 
that  year. 

4.  Chaj'acter  and  Contents. 

This  epistle  is  an  outpoiiring  of  the  apostle's  feelings  to- 
wards a  Church  whose  hearty  reception  of  the  Gospel  was 
to  him  a  matter  of  constant  gratitude  to  God,^  from  which 
he  had  been  reluctantly  separated,*  whose  reputation,  owing 
to  the  constant  traffic  of  the  city  both  by  land   and  sea, 
had  already  spread  far  and  wide,^  and  of  whose  patience 
and   constancy  he  had  received  a  gratifying  report   from 
Timothy.^     It  contains  also  a  vindication  of  his  owji  charac- 
ter from  the  aspersions  of  the  Jews,  who  were  imputing  to 
him  the  basest  motives,  and  seem  in  particular  to  have  put 
a  bad  construction  on  his  sudden  departure  from  the  city. 
In  refutation  of  these  calumnies  Paul  appeals  to  the  ex- 
Timothy  came  even  now  unto  us  from       always  for  you  all,  making  mention  of 
you,  and   brought  us   glad    tidings   of       you  in  our  prayers  ;   remembering  with- 
your  faith  and  love,  and  that  ye  have       out    ceasing    your   work   of  faith   and 
good  remembrance  of  us  always,  long-       labour  of  love  and  patience  of  hope  in 
ing  to  see  us,  even  as  we  also  to  see  you  ;       our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  before  our  God 
for  this  cause,  brethren,  we  were  com-       and    Father  ;    knowing,     brethren    be- 
forted  over  you  in  all  our  distress  and       loved  of  God,  your  election,  how  that 
affliction  through  your  faith  :  for  now  we       our  gospel  came  not  unto  you  in  word 
live,  if  ye  stand  fast  in  the  Lord.     For       only,  but  also  in  power,  and  in  the  Holy 
what  thanksgiving  can  we  render  again       Ghost,  and  in  much  assurance  ;  even  as 
unto  God  for  you,  for  all  the  joy  where-       ye  know  what  manner  of  men  we  shewed 
with  we  joy  for  your  sakes  before  our       ourselves    toward   you   for   your   sake. 
God."  And  ye  became  imitators  of  us,  and  of 

1  xviii.  5.  the  Lord,  having  received  the  word  in 

2  The  treatment  he  was  then  receiv-       much   affliction,   with  joy  of  the  Holy 
ing  from   the  Jews,  as  well  as  his  ex-       Ghost." 

perience  in  Thessalonica,  would  account  ■*  ii.   17  (quoted    p.  93,    riote  4);    iii. 

for  his  language  in  ii.   15,   16:   "Who  i,  2,  (quoted  p.   96,  note  6). 

both  killed    the    Lord   Jesus   and   the  ^  i.  8  :   "  For  from  you  hath  sounded 

prophets,  and  drave  out  us,  and  please  forth  the  word  of  the  Lord,  not  only  in 

not  God,  and  are  contrary  to  all  men  ;  Macedonia  and  Achaia,    but   in   every 

forbidding  us  to  speak  to  the  Gentiles  place  your  faith  to  God-ward  is  gone 

that  they  may  be  saved  ;  to  fil  up  their  forth  ;  so  that  we  need  not  to  speak  any 

sins  alway."  thing." 

•*  i.  2-6  :   "We  give  thanks   to   God  ^  iii.  6-9  (quoted  p.  96,  note  6). 

G 


98  New  Testament  and  Its  Writers.  ix. 

perience  his  converts  had  of  his  life  and  conduct  while  he 
was  with  them,  and  to  the  salutary  effects  of  his  preaching.^ 
After  telling  of  the  yearning  anxiety  he  had  felt  on  their 
account,  and  of  the  joy  which  Timothy's  report  had 
afforded  him,  he  prays  that  God  would  grant  a  fulfilment 
of  the  desire,  which  he  feels  intensely,  to  revisit  them  for 
the  perfecting  of  "  that  which  is  lacking  in  (their)  faith,"  and 
that  meanwhile  their  spiritual  life  may  be  developed  and 
strengthened.^  With  this  view  he  exhorts  them  to  the  culti- 
vation of  certain  virtues — purity,  brotherly  love,  industry — 
which  they  were  in  danger  of  neglecting.^ 

The  characteristic  feature  of  this  epistle,  however,  as  of 
that  which  follows,  is  the  prominence  it  gives  to  Christ's 
Second  Coming.^  This  had  been  a  main  theme  of  Paul's 
preaching  when  he  was  in  Thessalonica,^  and  it  had  so 
taken  possession  of  his  hearers  that  the  bereavements  they 
had  suffered  by  the  death  of  relatives  since  the  apostle  left 
them,  were  chiefly  mourned  because  they  thought  the 
departed  friends  would  have  no  share  in  the  glory  of  the 
Saviour's  Advent.  The  comfort  which  Paul  adminis- 
ters when  he  assures  his  converts  that  their  fears  in 
this   matter   are   groundless,  gives    one   the  idea  that  he 

1  Chap.  ii.  custom   was,  went   in   unto   them,  and 

2  ii.  10-13.  for   three   sabbath  days  reasoned  with 

3  iv.  1-8;  9,  10;   II,  12.  them  from  the  scriptures,  opening  and 
■*  The   Death  of  Christ  is  only  once       alleging,  that  it  behoved  the  Christ  to 

referred  to,  viz.,  in  v.  g,  10  :   "For  God  suffer,  and  to  rise  again  from  the  dead  ; 

appointed  us  not  unto  wrath,  but  unto  and  that  this  Jesus,  whom,  said  he,   I 

the  obtaining  of  salvation  through  our  proclaim  unto  you,  is  the  Christ  "  ;  xvii. 

Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  died  for  us,  that,  31  (at  Athens) :   ' '  Inasmuch  as  he  hath 

whether   we  wake  or  sleep,  we  should  appointed  a  day,  in  the  which  he  will 

live  together  with  him."     It  was  only  at  judge  the  world  in  righteousness  by  the 

a  later   period,  when   the   Church  was  man  whom  he  hath  ordained  ;  whereof 

invaded  by  the  legalism   of  the  Jewish  he  hath  given  assurance  unto  all  men. 

Christians,  that  the  doctrinal  aspects  of  in    that  he  hath  raised   him  from   the 

the  Cross  were  fully  brought  out.       In  dead." 

the  meantime  it  was  the  Messiahship  of  5  \_  g^  jq  :   "how  ye  turned  unto  God 

Jesus  that  had  to  be  proclaimed  as  the  from  idols,  to  serve  the  living  and  true 

primary  truth  of  Christianity,  in  opposi-  God,  and   to   wait   for    his    Son    from 

tion  to  the  unbelief  of  the  Jews;  the  heaven";    ii.    12:    "to    the   end   that 

Second  Coming  to  "judge  the  world  in  ye   should  walk  worthily  of  God,  who 

righteousness  "    being   one  of  its  most  calleth  you  into  his  own  kingdom  and 

striking  and  important  features  ;</.  Acts  glory";  cf.  Acts  xvii.  7:  "and  these  all 

xvii.  1-3:   "  Now  when  they  had  passed  act  contrary  to  the  decrees    of  Caesar, 

through     Amphipolis    and    ApoUonia,  saying  that  there   is  another  king,  one 

they  came  to  Thessalonica,  where  was  a  Jesus." 
synagogue  of  the  Jews  :  and  Paul,  as  his 


IX.  2  Tkessalonians.  99 

expected  Christ  to  come  in  his  oivn  lifetime}  In  this  re- 
spect the  language  of  this  epistle  differs  widely  from  the 
allusions  to  his  approaching  death  in  his  later  epistles.^ 
That  the  apostle  should  have  been  left  to  his  own  impres- 
sions in  this  matter  is  in  striking  harmony  with  our  Lord's 
statement,  "  But  of  that  day  and  hour  knoweth  no  one,  not 
even  the  angels  of  heaven,  neither  the  Son,  but  the  Father 
only."^  That  it  would  come  suddenly  and  called  for  con- 
stant watchfulness  was  a  truth  often  dwelt  upon  by  Christ, 
which  the  apostle  could  safely  enforce,  as  he  does  at  the 
close  of  this  epistle.* 

With  regard  to  the  arrangement  of  topics  in  this  the 
earliest  of  Paul's  writings  that  has  come  down  to  us,  we 
can  trace  the  order  that  may  be  said  to  be  character- 
istic of  his  epistles  generally,  viz.  :  (i)  Salutation, 
(2)  Thanksgiving  and  Prayer,  (3)  Doctrinal  Instruction, 
(4)  Practical  Exhortation,  (5)  Personal  Messages, 
(6)  Concluding  Salutation  and  Benediction. 

"THE   SECOND   EPISTLE   OF   PAUL   THE   APOSTLE   TO 
THE   THESSALONIANS." 

I.  Authorship. 

We  have  the  same  external  evidence  for  the  genuineness 

of  the  second  epistle  as  of  the  first.     Internally  it  bears 

evidence  of  being  a  sequel  to  the  other,  being  written,  like 

it,  in  the  name  of  Paul  and  Silas  and  Timothy,^  and  con- 

1  iv.  13-18  (see  p.  94,  note  2).  to  abide  in  the  flesh  is  more  needful  for 

2  2  Cor.  V.  I,  2  :  "  For  we  know  that  your  sake  "  ;  2  Tim.  iv.  6  :  "  For  I  am 
if  the  earthly  house  of  our  tabernacle  be  already  being  offered,  and  the  time  of 
dissolved,  we  have  a  building  from  God,  my  departure  is  come." 

a  house  not  made  with  hands,  eternal,  •*  Matt.    .\xiv.    36  ;  cf.    Acts   i.   6,  7  : 

in  the  heavens.     For  verily  in   this  we  "  They  therefore,  when  they  were  come 

groan,  longing  to  be  clothed  upon  with  together,  asked  him,  saying,  Lord,  dost 

our  habitation  with  is  from  heaven  "  ;  thou  at  this  time  restore  the  kingdom  to 

Phil.   i.    21-24:   "For  to  me  to  live  is  Israel?    And  he  said  unto  them.  It  is 

Christ,  and  to  die  is  gain.     But  if  to  not  for  you  to  know  times  or  seasons, 

live  in  the  flesh, — if  this  is  the  fruit  of  my  which  the  Father  hath  set   within   his 

work,  then  what  I  shall  choose  I  wot  own  authority." 

not.     But  I  am  in  a  strait  betwixt  the  *  v.  i-ii. 

two,  having  the  desire  to  depart  and  be  ^  i.  i. 
with  Christ ;  for  it  is  very  far  better  :  yet 


lOO  New  Testament  and  Its  Writers.  ix. 

taining  a  direct  allusion  to  the  previous  epistle.^  As  might 
have  been  expected,  it  contains  fewer  and  more  distant 
allusions  to  the  apostle's  sojourn  in  Thessalonica,  although 
it  expressly  recalls  the  teaching  he  had  then  imparted  re- 
garding the  revelation  of  "  the  man  of  sin."  ^  As  regards 
style  and  language  it  exhibits  many  Pauline  peculiarities  in 
common  with  the  first  epistle. 

The  prophetic  passage  in  the  second  chapter  ^  has  been 
a  stumbling-block  to  many  critics,  who  have  imagined  it  to 
bear  the  stamp  of  a  later  period.  In  reality,  however,  it  is 
quite  consistent  with  the  teaching  of  the  first  epistle,  which 
nowhere  implies  that  the  coming  of  Christ  was  to  be 
immediate,  although  it  was  to  be  sudden  and  was  appar- 
ently to  take  place  in  the  apostle's  lifetime.  Predictions  of 
a  similar  kind  had  been  uttered  by  our  Lord  Himself,*  and 
were  also  to  be  found  in  the  books  of  Daniel  and  Ezekiel. 

2.    The  Readers. 
See  page  95. 

3.  Date  and  Place  of  Composition. 
As  above  remarked,  this  epistle,  like  the  first,  is  written 
in  the  name  of  Paul,  Silas,  and  Timothy.  The  three  were 
together  at  Corinth,  and  apparently  so  far  as  the  Book  of 
Acts  informs  us,  nowhere  else.  This  leads  to  the  infer- 
ence that  this  epistle,  like  the  first,  was  written  from  that 
city — probably  a  few  months  later.^      In   the  interval  the 

1  ii.  15  :  "So  then,  brethren,  stand  when  I  was  yet  with  you,  I  told  you  these 
fast,  and  hold  the  traditions  which  ye  things?"  Apart  from  this  circumstance 
were  taught,  whether  by  word,  or  by  there  seems  to  be  little  or  nothing  to 
epistle  of  ours."  In  iii.  17  ("  The  salu-  support  the  conjecture  of  Grotius, 
tation  of  me  Paul  with  mine  own  hand,  adopted  by  Baur,  Ewald,  and  Renan, 
which  is  the  token  in  every  epistle  :  so  I  that  the  historical  order  of  the  two 
write,")  some  critics  have  thought  they  epistles  has  been  reversed,  and  that  the 
could  detect  a  mark  of  spuriousness  ;  second  should  be  first  and  the  first 
but   the  words  need  occasion   no  diffi-  second. 

culty  if  we  suppose  either  that  Paul  had  **  ii.  1-12. 

written  a  number  of  letters  previously,  ^  Matt.  .\xiv. 

(see  p.  85),    or  that  he  is   alluding  to  ^  A  correspondence  has  been  found 

a  forgery  in  ii.    2  ("To   the   end  that  between  Paul's  circumstances  at  the  time 

ye   be  not   quickly  shaken   from   your  of  his  trial  before  Gallio  (Acts  xviii.  12- 

mind,   nor   yet   be   troubled,  either  by  18),  and  his   e.xpressions   in   iii.    i,    2: 

spirit,  or  by  word,  or  by  epistle  as  from  "  Finally,  brethren,    pray   for   us,   that 

us,  as  that  the  day  of  the  Lord  is  now  the  word  of  the  Lord  may  run  and  be 

present,")  necessitating  some  such  guar-  glorified,  even  as  also  it  is  with  you  ;  and 

antee  of  genuineness  in  future.  that  we  may  be  delivered  from  unreason- 

2  ii.    5:    "Remember   ye   not,    that,  able  and  evil  men;  for  all  have  not  faith. 


IX.  2  Thessalonia7is.  loi 

excitement  and  disorder  at  Thessalonica  consequent  upon 
the  expectation  of  Christ's  coming,  amid  the  persecution 
to  which  the  converts  were  exposed,  had  grown  even  more 
serious,  and  demanded  the  apostle's  attention.^ 

4.   Character  and  Contents. 

Along  with  an  expression  of  satisfaction  with  their 
continued  faith  and  steadfastness  in  the  midst  of  their 
persecutions  and  afflictions,^  Paul  assures  the  Thessalonians 
that  Christ  will  infallibly  come  to  vindicate  their  cause, 
"  rendering  vengeance "  to  His  and  their  enemies,  and  at 
the  same  time  "  to  be  glorified  in  his  saints."  ^  But  he  warns 
them  against  being  carried  away  with  the  idea — due  in 
some  measure  to  a  misconstruction  of  his  own  teaching* — 
that  Christ's  coming  was  immediately  to  take  place.  He 
mentions  that  certain  great  events  must  first  come  to  pass,-^ 
and  exhorts  them  to  the  exercise  of  continued  patience  in 
the  strength  of  divine  grace,^  bidding  them  lead  a  quiet, 
honest,  and  industrious  life,'^  such  as  he  had  given  an 
example  of  while  he  was  yet  with  them,  and  commanding 
them  to  "withdraw  (themselves)  from  every  brother  that 
walketh  disorderly." 

1  i.  4,  5  :  "  Your  patience  and  faith  in  travail,  working  night  and  day,  that  we 

all  your  persecutions  and  in  the  aftlic-  might  not  burden  any  of  you  :   not  be- 

tions   which    ye    endure  ;    which    is   a  cause  we  have  not  the  right,  but  to  make 

manifest  token  of  the  righteous  judge-  ourselves  an  ensample  unto  you,  that  ye 

ment  of  God  ;   to  the  end  that  ye  may  should  imitate  us.     For  even  when  we 

be  counted  worthy  of  the  kingdom  of  were  with  you,  this  we  commanded  you, 

God,  for  which  ye  also  suffer."    ii.  i,  2:  If  any  will  not  work,  neither  let  him  eat. 

"  Now  we  beseech  you,  brethren,  touch-  For  we  hear  of  some  that  walk  among 

ing  the  coming  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  you  disorderly,  that  work  not  at  all,  but 

and  our  gathering  together  unto  him  ;  are  busybodies.      Now  them  that  are 

to  the  end  that  ye  be  not  quickly  shaken  such  we  command  and  exhort  in  the 

from  your  mind,  nor  yet  be  troubled.  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that  with  quietness 

either    by   spirit,    or    by  word,   or   by  they  work,  and  eat  their  own  bread." 

epistle  as  from  us,  as  that  the  day  of  2 ;_  j.^^_ 

the   Lord  is  now  present."     iii.   6-12:  3  i.  5-12. 

"  Now  we  command  you,  brethren,  in  •*  ii.  i,  2  (quoted  in  7iote  i). 

the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that  ^  ;;   3-12. 

ye    withdraw    yourselves    from     every  6  ii_  13-17. 

brother   that   walketh    disorderly,    and  7  jij.    6-16.      It  was   in   the   spirit   of 

not  after  the  tradition  which  they  re-  this  apostolic  counsel  that  Wesley,  on 

ceived   of    us.       For    yourselves   know  being  asked  what  he  would  do  if  he 

how   ye   ought   to  imitate   us :   for  we  knew  he  had   to   die  that  very  night, 

behaved  not  ourselves  disorderly  among  replied  that  he  would  proceed  to  fulfil 

you  ;  neither  did  we  eat  bread  for  nought  the  duties  and  engagements  of  the  day. 
at  any  man's  hand,  but  in  labour  and 


I02  New  Testament  and  Its  Writers.  ix. 

The  characteristic  passage  of  the  epistle  is  that  which 
deals  with  "  the  falling  away  "  that  must  "  come  first "  before 
Christ's  appearing.^  Its  meaning  has  been  the  subject  of 
endless  controversy,  owing  to  the  attempts  which  have  been 
made  to  identify  the  "  man  of  sin,"  and  the  "  one  that  re- 
straineth  now,"  with  historical  dynasties  or  persons.  For 
the  former  there  have  been  suggested  Nero,  Mahomet,  the 
Pope,  Luther,  Napoleon  ;  for  the  latter  the  Roman  Empire, 
the  German  Empire,  Claudius,  and  even  Paul  himself.  But 
the  truer  interpretation  seems  to  be  to  regard  the  ex- 
pressions in  question  as  referring  to  two  great  tendencies — 
the  one  antichristian,  in  the  form  of  secular  ambition,  which 
was  all  that  the  hope  of  a  Messiah  then  amounted  to  in 
many  Jewish  minds,  and  the  other  political,  in  the  form 
of  the  civil  power  represented,  in  the  first  instance,  by  the 
Roman  Empire.  The  breakdown  of  the  civil  power  before 
the  aggressive  march  of  an  ungodly  Socialism,  under  the 
leadership  perhaps  of  some  one  realising  on  a  gigantic 
scale  the  antichristian  feeling  and  ambition  of  the  age, 
may  be  the  signal  for  the  Advent  of  the  true  Christ  in 
His  heavenly  power  and  glory.^ 

1  ii.    I-I2 :     "Now  we  beseech   you,  be  revealed  the  lawless  one,  whom  the 

brethren,   touching  the  coming  of  our  Lord  Jesus  shall  slay  with  the  breath  of 

Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  our  gathering  his  mouth,  and  bring  to  nought  by  the 

together  unto  him  ;  to  the  end  that  ye  manifestation  of  his  coming  ;  even  he, 

be  not  quickly  shaken  from  your  mind,  whose  coming  is  according  to  the  work- 

nor  yet  be  troubled,  either  by  spirit,  or  ing  of  Satan  with  all  power  and  signs 

by  word,  or  by  epistle  as  from  us,  as  and  lying  wonders,  and  with  all  deceit 

that  the  day  of  the  Lord  is  now  present ;  of  unrighteousness  for   them   that   are 

let  no  man  beguile  you  in  any  wise  :  for  perishing  ;    because   they  received   not 

it  will  not  be,  except  the  falling  away  the  love  of  the  truth,  that  they  might 

come  first,  and  the  man  of  sin  be  re-  be   saved.      And   for   this    cause    God 

vealed,   the   son   of  perdition,   he  that  sendeth  them  a  working  of  error,  that 

opposeth  and  exalteth  himself  against  they  should  believe  a  lie  :  that  they  all 

all  that  is  called  God  or  that  is  wor-  might    be    judged    who    believed    not 

shipped  ;  so  that  he  sitteth  in  the  temple  the    truth,    but    had    pleasure    in   un- 

cf  God,  setting  himself  forth  as  God.  righteousness." 

Remember  ye  not,  that,  when  I  was  yet  2  The  obscurity  of  the  passage  is  partly 

with  you,  I  told  you  these  things?   And  due  to  its  prophetic  character,  partly  to 

now  ye  know  that  which  restraineth,  to  the  need  for  caution  in  any  references  to 

the  end  that  he  may  be  revealed  in  his  the  interests  of  the  state,  and  partly  to 

own  season.     For  the  mystery  of  law-  the  fact  that  the  apostle  takes  for  granted 

lessness  doth  already  work  :  only  there  the  personal  instruction  he  had  already 

is  one  that  restraineth  now,  until  he  be  given  to  theThessalonians  on  the  same 

taken  out  of  the  way.     And  then  shall  subject. 


CHAPTER  X. 

"THE   FIRST   EPISTLE   OF   PAUL   THE  APOSTLE 
TO   THE   CORINTHIANS." 

I.    A2lth07'ship. 

As  already  mentioned,  the  Pauline  authorship  of  this 
epistle  is  admitted  with  practical  unanimity.  The  ex- 
ternal evidence  is  abundant,  from  the  end  of  the  first 
century  onward.^  In  particular  we  find  in  the  first  epistle 
of  Clement  of  Rome  to  the  Church  of  Corinth  (95  A.D.)  the 
following  unmistakable  reference  :  "  Take  up  the  epistle  of 
the  blessed  Paul  the  apostle.  What  was  it  that  he  first 
wrote  to  you  in  the  beginning  of  the  gospel .-'  Of  a  truth  it 
was  under  the  influence  of  the  Spirit  that  he  wrote  to  you 
in  his  epistle  concerning  himself  and  Cephas  and  Apollos, 
because  then  as  well  as  now  you  had  formed  partialities."  ^ 
But  the  internal  evidence  would  of  itself  be  decisive. 
For  this  epistle — and  still  more  2  Corinthians — bears  very 
distinct  traces  of  the  opposition  which  Paul  had  to  encounter 
before  his  apostolic  authority  was  firmly  established  ;^  and 

1  Besides  the  testimony  of  Clement  of  our  Lord  ?  are  not  ye  my  work  in  the 
Rome  above  cited,  we  have  an  early  Lord?  If  to  others  I  am  not  an  apostle, 
witness  in  Polycarp,  who  expressly  yet  at  least  I  am  to  you  :  for  the  seal  of 
quotes  I  Cor.  vi.  2  as  Paul's  teaching.  mine  apostleship  are  ye  in  the  Lord. 
There  are  many  apparent  quotations  My  defence  to  them  that  examine  me  is 
from  it  by  Ignatius,  one  by  Hernias,  this.  Have  we  no  right  to  eat  and  to 
and  several  by  Justin  Martyr;  while  drink?  Have  we  no  right  to  lead  about 
Irenaeus,  Clement  of  Alexandria,  and  a  wife  that  is  a  believer,  even  as  the  rest 
Tertullian,  all  recognise  it  as  Paul's  of  the  apostles,  and  the  brethren  of  the 
first  epistle  to  the  Corinthians.  It  is  Lord,  and  Cephas?  Or  I  only  and  Bar- 
also  found  in  the  Syriac  and  Old  Latin  nabas,  have  we  not  a  right  to  forbear 
Versions,  and  in  the  Muratorian  Canon.  working?"     iv.    14,   15:    "I  write  not 

2  ist  Ep.  c.  47 ;  cf.  I  Cor.  i.  12 :  these  things  to  shame  you,  but  to  ad- 
"  Now  this  I  mean,  that  each  one  of  monish  you  as  my  beloved  children, 
you  saith,  I  am  of  Paul ;  and  I  of  For  though  ye  should  have  ten  thousand 
Apollos ;  and  I  of  Cephas ;  and  I  of  tutors  in  Christ,  yet  have  ye  not  many 
Christ."  fathers  :  for  in  Christ  Jesus  I  begat  you 

^e.g.  ix.  1-6:  "Am  I  not  free?  am  I       through  the  gospel." 
not  an  apostle?  have  I  not  seen  Jesus 


I04  New  Testament  and  Its  Writers.  x. 

we  know  that  such  opposition  had  been  vanquished  long 
before  his  death.  It  is  full  of  viiniite  references  to  the  state 
of  the  Corinthian  Church — being  to  a  large  extent  the 
apostle's  reply  to  a  letter  of  inquiry  from  that  Church,^ 
although  it  also  deals  with  a  number  of  evils  and  disorders 
among  the  converts,  which  had  come  to  the  apostle's  know- 
ledge tliroiigh  other  chatttielsr'  This  last  circumstance,  as 
Paley  points  out  in  his  Horce  Paulines  (iii.  i),  is  a  token  of 
reality,  as  it  was  not  to  be  expected  that  the  Corinthians 
should  deliberately  expose  their  own  faults.  At  the  same 
time  their  acknowledgment  and  preservation  of  the  epistle, 
notwithstanding  the  aspersions  which  it  casts  on  their  early 
character  as  a  Church,  is  a  proof  of  its  apostolic  claims  to 
their  regard.  It  is  worthy  of  remark,  too,  that  it  contains 
numerous  references  to  Paufs  inovcjucnts,  which  would 
scarcely  have  been  ventured  on  by  an  impostor;^  and  a 
comparison  of  the  epistle  with  the  Book  of  Acts  and  other 
parts  of  the  New  Testament  brings  out  many  striking 
coincidences,  which  can  best  be  accounted  for  on  the  sup- 
position of  its  genuineness.'* 

1  vii.  i:  "  Now  concerning  the  things  meet  forme  to  go  also,  they  shall  go 
whereof  ye  wrote."  with  me.      But  I  will  come  unto  you, 

2  i.  II  :  "For  it  hath  been  signified  when  I  shall  have  passed  through  Mace- 
unto  me  concerning  you,  my  brethren,  donia  ;  for  I  do  pass  through  Macedonia; 
by  them  which  are  of  the  household  of  but  with  you  it  may  be  that  I  shall  abide, 
Chloe,  that  there  are  contentions  among  or  even  winter,  that  ye  may  set  me  for- 
you."  V.  I :  "  It  is  actually  reported  ward  on  my  journey  whithersoever  I  go. 
that  there  is  fornication  among  you,  For  I  do  not  wish  to  see  you  now  by  the 
and  such  fornication  as  is  not  even  way  ;  for  I  hope  to  tarry  a  while  with 
among   the  Gentiles,   that  one  of  you  you,  if  the  Lord  permit." 

hath  his  father's  wife."     xi.   i8 :   "For  ••  {a)    iii.    6:    "I    planted,    Apollos 

first  of  all,  when  ye  come  together  in  watered";  f/".  Acts  xviii.  i:  "  After  these 

the  church,  I  hear  that  divisions  exist  things    he    [i.e.    Paul)    departed   from 

among  you  ;  and  I  partly  believe  it."  Athens,  and  came  to  Corinth,"  ver.  ii  : 

3  e.g.  iv.  17-19:  "For  this  cause  "And  he  dwelt  there  a  year  and  six 
have  I  sent  unto  you  Timothy,  who  is  months,teachingthe  word  of  God  among 
my  beloved  and  faithful  child  in  the  them,"  and^'xix.  i  :  "  And  it  came  to 
Lord,  who  shall  put  you  in  remem-  pass,  that,  while  Apollos  was  at  Corinth, 
brance  of  my  ways  which  be  in  Christ,  Paul  having  passed  through  the  upper 
even  as  I  teach  everywhere  in  every  country  came  to  Ephesus."  [b)  xvi. 
church.  Now  some  are  puffed  up,  as  8,  11  :  "  But  I  will  tarry  at  Ephesus 
though  I  were  not  coming  to  you.  But  until  Pentecost.  .  .  .  Let  no  man  there- 
I  will  come  to  you  shortly,  if  the  Lord  fore  despise  him  (i.e.  Timothy).  But  set 
will ;  and  I  will  know,  not  the  word  of  him  forward  on  his  journey  in  peace, 
them  which  are  puffed  up,  but  the  that  he  may  come  unto  me  :  for  I  expect 
power."  xvi.  1-7:  "  .  .  .  And  when  I  him  with  the  brethren";  cf.  Acts  xix. 
arrive,  whomsoever  ye  shall  approve  by  20-22  :  "So  mightily  grew  the  word  of 
letters,  them  will  I  send  to  carry  your  the  Lord  and  prevailed  (?.(r.  at  Ephesus). 
bounty  unto  Jerusalem  :    and  if  it   be  Now    after  these   things   were   ended. 


X.  I  Cormthians.  105 

Along  with  Paul  Sosthenes  is  associated  in  the  opening 
verse  (possibly  the  converted  "ruler  of  the  synagogue")^ 
— who  may  have  acted  as  the  apostle's  amanuensis. 

2.    The  Readers. 

"  Unto  the  church  of  God  which  is  at  Corinth."^  In 
the  apostle's  time  Corinth  was  practically  the  capital  of 
Greece.  It  had  attained  pre-eminence  at  a  much  earlier 
period,  owing  to  its  commercial  advantages,  but  had  been 
destroyed  by  the  Roman  conqueror  about  two  hundred 
years  before  Paul's  visit.  After  lying  in  ruins  for  a 
century,  it  was  rebuilt  by  Julius  Caesar  46  B.C.,  and  peopled 
by  a  Roman  colony.  This  may  account  for  the  Roman 
names  mentioned  in  the  epistle.^  We  have  an  allusion  to 
the  effects  produced  by  the  ravages  of  the  conqueror  on 
the  various  kinds  of  buildings,  and  also  to  the  gladiatorial 
exhibitions."^ 

Situated  at  the  foot  of  a  great  rock  called  Acrocorinthus 
about  2000  feet  high,  on  the  Isthmus  (famous  for  its 
games^)  which  connected  the  Peloponnesus  with  the  main- 

Paul  purposed  in  the  spirit,   when  he  Lord  with  all  his  house ;  and  many  of 

had    passed    through    Macedonia    and  the  Corinthians  hearing  believed,  and 

Achaia,    to    go   to    Jerusalem,    saying,  were    baptized,"    and    Rom.    xvi.    23  : 

After  I  have  been  there,  I  must  also  see  "  Gaius   my   host,    and   of    the    whole 

Rome.      And   having  sent  into  Mace-  church,  saluteth  you." 

donia  two  of  them  that  ministered  unto  1  Acts  xviii.  17. 

him,  Timothy  and  Erastus,  he  himself  -  i.  2. 

stayedin  Asiaforawhile,"  andiTim.  iv.  *  i.    14:    "  Crispus  and  Gaius."  xvi. 

12:   "Let  no  man  despise  thy  youth."  17:    "Stephanas   and  Fortunatus   and 

It  is  to  be  observed  that  these  words  Achaicus." 

were  addressed  to  Timothy  while  he  was  ••  iii.  12,  13  :  "  But  if  any  man  build- 
in  Ephesus — at  a  later  period,  [c.)  i.  eth  on  the  foundation  gold,  silver,  costly 
14-17:  "I  thank  God  that  I  baptized  stones,  wood,  hay,  stubble  ;  each  man's 
none  of  you,  save  Crispus  and  Gaius ;  work  shall  be  made  manifest :  for  the 
lest  any  man  should  say  that  ye  were  day  shall  declare  it,  because  it  is  re- 
baptized  into  my  name.  And  I  baptized  vealed  in  fire  ;  and  the  fire  itself  shall 
also  the  household  of  Stephanas  :  be-  prove  each  man's  work  of  what  sort 
sides,  I  know  not  whether  I  baptized  any  itis."  iv.g:  "For,  I  think,  God  hath  set 
other.  For  Christ  sent  me  not  tobaptize,  forth  us  the  apostles  last  of  all,  as  men 
but  to  preach  the  Gospel,"  and  xvi.  15  :  doomed  to  death:  for  we  are  made  a 
"Ye  know  the  house  of  Stephanas,  that  it  spectacle  unto  the  world,  and  to  angels, 
is  the  first  fruits  of  Achaia,  and  that  they  and  to  men." 

have  set  themselves  to  minister  unto  the  ^  ix.  24-27  :    "  Know  ye  not  that  they 

saints";  cf.  Acts  xviii.  7,8:   "And  he  which  run  in  a  race  run  all,  but  one 

(/.f.  Paul)  departed  thence,  and  went  into  receiveth  the  prize?     Even  so  run,  that 

the  house  of  a  certain  man  named  Titus  ye  may  attain.      And  every  man  that 

Justus,  one  that  worshipped  God,  whose  striveth  in  the  games  is  temperate  in  all 

house    joined   hard   to   the   synagogue  things.     Now  they  do  it   to   receive  a 

{i.e.    of    Corinth).       And   Crispus,    the  corruptible  crown;    but   we   an   incor- 

ruler  of  the  synagogue,  believed  in  the  ruptible.     I  therefore  so  run,  as  not  un- 


1 06  New  Testament  aiid  Its  Writers.  x. 

land,  and  lying  in  the  direct  route  between  Ephesus  and 
Rome,  Corinth  rapidly  regained  its  former  prosperity  and 
became  the  chief  emporium^  of  Europe,  with  a  population 
of  more  than  half  a  million,  drawn  from  many  lands.  It 
was  so  notorious  for  its  p7'ofligacy — encouraged  by  its  very 
worship — that  a  "  Corinthian  life  "  was  synonymous  with 
luxury  and  licentiousness.  At  the  same  time,  its  inhabi- 
tants made  such  pretensions  to  philosopJiy  and  literary 
culture  that  "  Corinthian  words "  was  a  phrase  meaning 
poh'shed  and  cultivated  speech. 

In  this  great  and  busy  centre  Paul  spent  a  year  and  a 
half  or  more  in  his  second  missionary  journey — being  the 
longest  time  he  had  ever  yet  laboured  continuously  in  any 
city."  He  found  a  home  in  the  house  of  Aquila  and 
Priscilla,  a  Jewish  couple  who  had  recently  come  from 
Rome  in  consequence  of  the  decree  of  Claudius,  eminent 
for  their  generosity  and  devotion,  and  with  them  he  wrought 
at  his  trade  of  tent-making.^ 

Beginning  his  ministry  in  the  synagogue  as  usual,  he  was 
soon  compelled  by  the  opposition  of  the  Jews  to  seek  an- 
other place  of  meeting,  which  he  found  in  the  house  of 
Justus,  a  converted  proselyte.  There  he  preached  the 
Gospel,  encouraged  by  a  message  from  God  in  a  vision, 

certainly ;  so  fight  I,  as  not  beating  the  Rome  :  and  he  came  unto  them  ;  and 

air :  but  I  buffet  my  body,  and  bring  it  because  he  was  of  the  same  trade,  he 

into  bondage :  lest  by  any  means,  after  abode  with  them,   and  they  wrought ; 

that  I  have  preached  to  others,  I  myself  for  by  their  trade  they  were  tentmakers." 

should  be  rejected."  Acts  xx.  34  :   "Ye  yourselves  know  that 

1  It  had  two  harbours.  Eastern  and  these  hands  ministered  unto  my  neces- 
Western,  named  Cenchrete  and  Lech-  sities,  and  to  them  that  were  with  me  " 
aeum.  A  few  years  after  the  apostle's  (Address  to  the  Ephesian  elders  at 
visit  Nero  cut  the  first  turf  for  a  canal  Miletus),  i  Cor.  iv.  12  :  "And  we  toil, 
across  the  Isthmus  ;  but  the  project  was  working  with  our  own  hands  :  being 
not  carried  out.  reviled,  we  bless  ;  being  persecuted,  we 

2  Acts  xviii.  11:  "  And  he  dwelt  there  endure."  i  Cor.  xvi.  19:  "The 
a  year  and  six  months,  teaching  the  churches  of  Asia  salute  you.  Aquila 
word  of  God  among  them."  xviii.  18:  and  Prisca  salute  you  much  in  the 
"  And  Paul,  having  tarried  after  this  yet  Lord,  with  the  church  that  is  in  their 
manydaySjtookhisleaveof  the  brethren."  house  "  ;  Rom.  xvi.  3-5  :   "  Salute  Prisca 

3  Acts  xviii.  1-3  :  "After  these  things  and  Aquila  my  fellow-workers  in  Christ 
he  departed  from  Athens,  and  came  to  Jesus,  who  for  my  life  laid  down  their 
Corinth.  And  he  found  a  certain  Jew  own  necks  ;  unto  whom  not  only  I  give 
named  Aquila,  a  man  of  Pontus  by  race,  thanks,  but  also  all  the  churches  of  the 
lately  come  from  Italy,  with  his  wife  Gentiles :  and  salute  the  church  that 
Priscilla,  because  Claudius  had  com-  is  in  their  house"  [i.e.  in  Rome,  to 
manded   all   the  Jews  to   depart   from  which  they  had  returned). 


X.  I  Corinthians.  107 

and  continued  to  do  so  with  no  small  success  notwith- 
standing an  attempt  of  the  Jews  to  invoke  the  civil  power 
against  him.  ^  His  converts  appear  to  have  been  chiefly- 
drawn  from  the  lower  classes,"  but  they  were  not  free  from 
the  prevailing  tendency  to  intellectual  pride^  accompanied 
with  a  proneness  to  sensual  siti,  equally  characteristic  of 
their  city>  The  apostle  speaks  of  having  been  with 
them  "in  weakness  and  in  fear,  and  in  much  trembling"^ 
— possibly  the  result  of  his  recent  apparent  failure  at 
Athens. 

3.  Dale  and  Place  of  Composition. 

It  can  be  proved  with  tolerable  certainty  that  the  epistle 
was  written  from  Ephesus  about  the  spring  of  57  or  58  A.D.^ 

From  internal  evidence'^  we  learn  that  it  was  written 
on  the  eve  of  a  second  visit  to  Corinth,  which  the  apostle 
was  about  to  pay  after  passing  through  Macedonia, 
having  already  sent  Timothy  in  advance  as  his  represen- 
tative, apparently  from  Ephesus.^  When  we  turn  to  the 
Book  of  Acts  we  find  that  such  a  visit  to  Greece  was  paid 
by  the  apostle  at  the  close  of  a  sojourn  of  about  three  years 
at  Ephesus,^  and  it  appears  from  xix.   21-23  that  almost 

1  Acts  xviii.  4-18.  ■*  V.   i-ii  :    "  It  is  actually  reported 

2  i.  26-29:  "  For  behold  your  calling,  that  there  is  fornication  among  you," 
brethren,  how  that  not  many  wise  after  <S:c.  vi.  15-18:  "Know  ye  not  that 
the  flesh,  not  many  mighty,  not  many  your  bodies  are  members  of  Christ," 
noble,  are  called,"  &c.  &c.    xi.  21  :   "  For  in  your  eating  each 

*  e.g.  i.  18-20 :  "  For  the  word  of  the  one  taketh  before  other  his  own  supper  ; 

cross    is    to    them   that   are    perishing  and    one    is    hungry,    and    another   is 

foolishness;  but  unto  us  which  are  being  drunken." 
saved  it  is  the  power  of  God.     For  it  is  ^  ii.  3. 

written,  6  The  note  at  the  end  of  the  epistle  in 

I  will  destroy  the  wisdom  of  the  wise,  the  A.V.  is  due  to  a  misapprehension  of 

And  the  prudence  of  the  prudent  xvi.   5    ("  But    I   will   come   unto   you, 

will  I  reject.  when  I  shall  have  passed  through  Mace- 

Where  is  the  wise  ?  where  is  the  scribe  ?  donia  ;    for   I   do  pass  through    Mace- 

where  is  the  disputer  of  this  world  ?  hath  donia")  as  if  it  implied  that  Paul  was 

not  God  made  foolish   the  wisdom  of  passing   through    Macedonia    when   he 

the  world?"    iii.  18,  19:   "  Let  no  man  wrote  the  epistle,   instead  of  his  being 

deceive  himself.     If  any  man  thinketh  at  Ephesus,  as  shown  above, 
that  he  is  wise  among  you  in  this  world,  7  jy.    17-19   (quoted  p.   104,  note  3); 

let  him  become   a   fool,   that   he   may  xvi.  5  (quoted  above,  note  6). 
become  wise.     For  the  wisdom  of  this  ^  xvi.  8-10  (quoted  p.  104,  note  4  [b]). 

world  is  foolishness  with  God."    viii.  i :  ^Actsxx.  i,  2.    "  And  after  the  uproar 

"Now  concerning  things  sacrificed  to  (/.<>.  at  Ephesus)  was  ceased,  Paul  having 

idols:  we  know  that  we  all  have  know-  sent  for  the  disciples  and  exhorted  them, 

ledge.     Knowledge  puffeth  up,  but  love  took  leave  of  them,  and  departed  for  to 

edifieth."  go  into  Macedonia.     And  when  he  had 


io8  Neiv  Testament  a7id  Its  Writers.  x. 

immediately  before  he  left  Ephesus  he  sent  Timothy  before 
him  to  Macedonia.^  Moreover,  several  expressions  in  the 
epistle  plainly  point  to  Ephesus  as  the  place  from  which  it 
emanated." 

As  the  apostle  appears  to  have  travelled  for  about  a  year 
after  leaving  Corinth  on  the  first  occasion  (54  A.D.),  previous 
to  settling  at  Ephesus,  his  stay  in  the  latter  city  may  have 
extended  to  the  beginning  of  58  A.D.  Several  allusions  to 
the  seasons  which  occur  in  the  epistle  lead  us  to  place 
its  composition  in  the  spring  of  58  A.D.  or  of  the  preceding 
year.  ^ 

4.   Character  and  Contents. 

Of  this  epistle  it  has  been  fitly  said  that  it  is  "a  fragment 
which  has  no  parallel  in  ecclesiastical  history."  It  deals 
with  a  section  of  early  Church  history  which  exhibits  the 
most  marked  and  varied  features.  It  sets  the  apostle 
vividly  before  us  as  a  teacher  and  ^owoxnor,  conf ro7ited  ivith 
the  dangers  a^id  perplexities,  the  errors  and  corruptions  to 
which  the  Corinthian  Church  was  liable,  planted  as  it  was 

gone  through  those  parts,  and  had  given  Aquila  ;      having    shorn    his    head    in 

them  much  exhortation,  he  came  into  Cenchreae ;    for   he  had  a  vow.      And 

Greece."   ver.  31:  "Wherefore  watch  ye,  they   came    to   Ephesus,    and    he    left 

remembering  that  by  the  space  of  three  them  there,"  and  Acts  xix.  i  :   "And  it 

years  I  ceased  not  to  admonish  every  came  to  pass,  that,  while  ApoUos  was 

one  night  and  day  with  tears"  (Address  at  Corinth,  Paul  having  passed  through 

to  the  Ephesian  elders  at  Miletus).  the  upper  country  came  to  Ephesus,  and 

1  Acts  xix.  22,  23  :  "  And  having  sent  found  certain  disciples,"  &c.  ;  f/l  i  Cor. 
into  Macedonia  two  of  them  that  minis-  xv.  32  :  "If  after  the  manner  of  men  I 
tered  unto  him,  Timothy  and  Erastus,  fought  with  beasts  at  Ephesus,  what 
he  himself  stayed  in  Asia  for  a  while.  doth  it  profit  me?  If  the  dead  are  not 
And  about  that  time  there  arose  no  raised,  let  us  eat  and  drink,  for  to- 
small  stir  concerning  the  Way."  XX.  i:  morrow  we  die." 

"And    after    the   uproar   was    ceased,  ^  v.  7,  8  :  "  Purge  out  the  old  leaven, 

Paul  having  sent  for  the  disciples  and  that  ye  may  be  a  new  lump,  even  as  ye 

exhorted  them,  took  leave  of  them,  and  are  unleavened.     P'or  our  passover  also 

departed  for  to  go  into  Macedonia."  hath  been  sacrificed,  even  Christ:  where- 

2  xvi.  8-10  (quoted  p.  104,  note  4  {b))\  fore  let  us  keep  the  feast,  not  with  old 
f/".  Acts  xix.  20-23  (quoted  p.  \o^,,  note  leaven,  neither  with  the  leaven  of  malice 
4(1^));  xvi.  19:  "  The  churches  of  Asia  and  wickedness,  but  with  the  unleavened 
salute  you.  Aquila  and  Prisca  salute  bread  of  sincerity  and  truth."  xvi.  6,  8: 
you  much  in  the  Lord,  with  the  church  "  But  with  you  it  may  be  that  I  shall 
that  is  in  their  house";  cf.  Acts  xviii.  abide,  or  even  winter,  that  ye  may  set 
18,  19:  "And  Paul,  having  tarried  me  forward  on  my  journey  whithersoever 
after  this  yet  many  days,  took  his  I  go.  But  I  will  tarry  at  Ephesus  until 
leave  of  the  brethren,  and  sailed  thence  Pentecost." 

for  Syria,   and  with  him    Priscilla  and 


X.  I  Corinthians.  109 

in  the  midst  of  the  rankest  heathenism.  In  the  words  of 
Dean  Stanley,  "  we  are  here  allowed  to  witness  the  earliest 
conflict  of  Christianity  with  the  culture  and  the  vices  of  the 
ancient  classical  world  ;  here  we  have  an  insight  into  the 
principles  which  regulated  the  apostle's  choice  or  rejection 
of  the  customs  of  that  vast  fabric  of  heathen  society  which 
was  then  emphatically  called  '  the  world ' ;  here  we  trace 
the  mode  in  which  he  combated  the  false  pride,  the  false 
knowledge,  the  false  liberality,  the  false  freedom,  the  false 
display,  the  false  philosophy,  to  which  an  intellectual  age, 
especially  in  a  declining  nation,  is  constantly  liable." 

The  epistle  is  thus  eininejitly  practical,  dQd\\r\g  with  ques- 
tions that  had  actually  emerged  in  the  experience  of  the 
Church  to  which  it  is  addressed.  In  form  it  is  orderly  and 
logical,  taking  up  one  point  after  another  in  regular  succes- 
sion ;  in  style  it  is  more  simple  and  direct  than  most  of 
Paul's  compositions,  rising  at  times  into  the  sublimest  elo- 
quence, as  in  the  great  eulogium  on  charity,  or  love.^ 

As  already  mentioned,  the  epistle  was  in  part  the  reply 
to  a  letter  of  inquiry  which  had  been  sent  to  the  apostle  by 
the  Corinthian  Church  in  consequence  of  a  letter  which  he 
had  previously  addressed  to  them.^ 

But  the  first  six  chapters  have  mainly  reference  to  certain 
dangers  threatening  the  Church,  of  which  information  had 
reached  the  apostle  from  another  quarter,  causing  him  the 
utmost  anxiety  and  griefs  These  dangers  were  mainly 
twofold — the  prevalence  oi party  spirit,  and  the  tendency  to 
immorality.     Hence  the  prominence  given,  in  the  opening 

1  Chap.  xiii.  i8  :  "  And  I   rejoice  at  the  coming  of 

2  V.  9-11:  "I  wrote  unto  you  in  my  Stephanas  and  Fortunatus  and  Achaicus : 
epistle  to  have  no  company  with  forni-  for  that  which  was  lacking  on  your  part 
cators  ;  not  altogether  with  the  forni-  they  supplied.  For  they  refreshed  my 
cators  of  this  world,  or  with  the  covetous  spirit  and  yours  :  acknowledge  ye  there- 
and  extortioners,  or  with  idolaters  ;  for  fore  them  that  are  such." 

then  must  ye  needs  go  out  of  the  world :  2  Cor.   ii.   3,4:   "And  I  wrote  this 

but  now  I  write  unto  you  not  to  keep  very  thing,  lest,  when  I  came,  I  should 

company,  if  any  man  that  is  named  a  have   sorrow   from   them   of    whom    I 

brother  be  a  fornicator,  or  covetous,  or  ought  to  rejoice  ;  having  confidence  in 

an  idolater,  or  a  reviler,  or  a  drunkard,  you  all,  that  my  joy  is  the  joy  of  you  all. 

or  an  extortioner  ;  with  such  a  one  no,  For  out  of  much  affliction  and  anguish 

not  to  eat."    vii.  i  :  "Now  concerning  of  heart  I  wrote  unto  you  with  many 

the  things  whereof  ye  wrote. "     xvi.   17,  tears." 


iio  New  1  estm^ient  and  Its  Writers.  x. 

salutation,  to  the  holiness  to  which  Christians  are  called, 
and  to  their  unity  in  Christ;^  hence,  too,  the  fact  that  in 
the  accompanying  thanksgiving  for  tokens  of  grace  in  the 
Corinthian  Church,  it  is  gifts  of  knowledge  and  utterance 
rather  than  graces  of  character  that  are  specially  men- 
tioned.^ 

(i)  The  tendency  to  sectarian  division  mentioned  in  the 
first  chapter^  seems  to  have  been  fostered  by  emissaries 
from  Jerusalem,  who  wished  to  undermine  Paul's  authority 
and  wrought  upon  the  feelings  and  prejudices  of  the  Jewish 
portion  of  the  Church.^  The  visit  of  Apollos,  a  learned 
and  eloquent  Jew  of  Alexandria, ^  after  Paul's  departure, 
had  tended  in  the  same  direction,  by  leading  to  an  in- 
vidious comparison  between  his  philosophical  and  rhetorical 
style  of  preaching  and  the  more  simple  method  of  Paul, 
although  the  latter  continued  to  regard  him  as  a  valuable 
coadjutor.^  But  there  were  some — probably  the  Judaising 
party — who  were  content  neither  with  the  teaching  of  Paul 
nor  of  Apollos,  but  were  disposed  to  range  themselves 
under  the  name  and  authority  of  Cephas,  as  the  leader  of 
the  twelve  apostles  and  an  observer  of  the  Law.     Others 


1  i.    2 :    "Unto  the    church   of  God  '^  Acts  xviii.  24-28:  "Now  a  certain 

which  is  at  Corinth,  even  them  that  are  Jew  named  Apollos,  an  Alexandrian  by 

sanctified  in  Christ  Jesus,  called  to  be  race,  a  learned  man,  came  to  Ephesus  ; 

saints,  with  all  that  call  upon  the  name  and  he  was  mighty  in  the  scriptures.  .  .  . 

of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  every  place,  And  when  he  was  minded  to  pass  over 

their  Lord  and  ours."  into  Achaia,  the  brethren   encouraged 

-  \.  4,  5:  "I  thank  my  God  always  him,  and  wrote  to  the  disciples  to  re- 
concerning  you,  for  the  grace  of  God  ceive  him  :  and  when  he  was  come,  he 
which  was  given  you  in  Christ  Jesus  ;  helped  them  much  which  had  believed 
that  in  everything  ye  were  enriched  in  through  grace  :  for  he  powerfully  con- 
him,  in  all  utterance  and  all  know-  futed  the  Jews,  and  that  publicly,  shew- 
ledge. "  ing  by  the  scriptures  that  Jesus  was  the 

3  i.  12  :  "  Now  this  I  mean,  that  each  Christ "  ;  cf.  i.  12  (quoted  above,  ?iotc2,); 

one  of  you  saith,  I  am  of  Paul ;  and  I  iii.  3,  4  :    ''  For  whereas  there  is  among 

of  Apollos  ;  and  I  of  Cephas;  and  I  of  you  jealousy|and  strife,  are  ye  not  carnal, 

Christ."  and  walk  after  the  manner  of  men  ?   For 

^  ix.  1-6  (quoted  p.  103,  ?iofe  3);  vers.  when  one  saith,  I  am  of  Paul ;  and  an- 
il, 12:  "  If  we  sowed  unto  you  spiritual  other,  I  am  of  Apollos;  are  ye  not 
things,  is  it  a  great  matter  if  we  shall  men?" 

reap  your  carnal  things?     If  others  par-  6  xvi.  12  :   "  But  as  touching  Apollos 

take  of  this  right  over  you,  do  not  we  the  brother,  I  besought  him  much  to 

yet  more?     Nevertheless  we  did  not  use  come  unto  you  with  the  brethren:  and 

this  right ;  but  we  bear  all  things,  that  it  was  not  at  all  his  will  to  come  now  ; 

we  may   cause   no    hindrance   to    the  but  he  will  come  when  he  shall  have 

gospel  of  Christ "  ;  2  Cov.  (passit7i).  opportunity." 


I  CorintIihi7is.  1 1 1 


professed  to  be  independent  of  human  teachers,  and 
claimed  a  more  direct  connection  with  Christ,  probably 
through  their  personal  acquaintance  with  "  the  brethren  of 
the  Lord,"  or  their  national  and  historical  affinity  with 
Christ.^  In  opposition  to  all  these  divisive  courses,  the 
apostle  insists  on  the  supremacy  of  Christ  as  the  one  Lord 
and  Saviour.  He  introduces  His  name  more  frequently  in 
this  epistle  than  in  any  other  of  his  writings  (nine  times, 
for  example,  in  the  first  nine  verses),  and  represents  himself 
and  other  apostles  as  being  not  the  heads  of  different 
schools,  but  simply  the  ministers  of  Christ,  by  whom  their 
converts  were  brought  to  a  knowledge  of  the  truth  as  it  is 
in  Jesus.- 

(2)  With  regard  to  the  immorality  invading  the  Church, 
the  apostle  begins  by  referring  to  a  terrible  scandal — the 
taking  to  wife,  by  a  Christian,  of  his  stepmother  during 
his  father's  lifetime.  In  the  exercise  of  his  apostolic  au- 
thority he  pronounces  a  stern  sentence  on  the  offender, 
and  urges  the  necessity  for  an  uncompromising  opposition 
to  all  such  sin,  and  separation  from  those  guilty  of  it,  if 
they  be  members  of  the  Church.^  In  the  next  chapter, 
after  deprecating  the  bringing  of  legal  actions  by  Christians 
against  one  another  in  the  Jieatheii  coia'ts,  he  rebukes  the 
antinomian  tendencies  among  them,  and  lays  down  the 
fundamental  principles  on  which  the  Christian  laiv  of 
purity  must  rest. 

The  apostle  then  proceeds  to  answer  the  inquiries  of  his 
converts  on  the  subject  of  marriage  and  celibacy,  distin- 
guishing between  his  own  personal  views  and  the  expressed 

1  i.  12  (quoted  p.  no,  notej,);  ix.  5  is  Jesus  Christ."  iii.  21-23:  "Where- 
(quoted  p.  103,  note  3).  fore  let  no  one  glory  in  men.     For  all 

2  i.  23,  24:  "But  we  preach  Christ  things  are  yours;  whether  Paul,  or 
crucified,  unto  Jews  a  stumbling-block,  ApoUos,  or  Cephas,  or  the  world,  or 
and  unto  Gentiles  foolishness ;  but  unto  life,  or  death,  or  things  present,  or 
them  that  are  called,  both  Jews  and  things  to  come  ;  all  are  yours  ;  and  ye 
Greeks,  Christ  the  power  of  God,  and  are  Christ's  ;  and  Christ  is  God's." 

the  wisdom  of  God."     iii.  5:    "What  ^  Chap,  v.;  cf.  2  Cor.   vii.   12:    "So 

then    is   ApoUos?    and   what  is    Paul?  although  I  wrote  unto  you,  I  wrote  not 

Ministers  through  whom  ye   believed  ;  for  his  cause  that  did  the  wrong,  nor  for 

and  each  as  the  Lord  gave   to   him."  hiscausethat  suffered  the  wrong, but  that 

iii.  II  :   "  For  other  foundation  can  no  your  earnest  care  for  us  might  be  made 

man  lay  than  that  which  is  laid,  which  manifest  unto  you  in  the  sight  of  God." 


1 1 2  New  Testament  and  Its  Writers.  x. 

will  of  Christ.^  In  the  next  three  chapters^  he  deals  with 
what  was  to  his  readers  a  subject  of  vast  importance — the 
duty  of  Christians  with  reference  to  the  feasts  that  were 
held  in  the  idol  temples,  and  more  particularly  with  regard 
to  the  use  of  the  flesh  of  animals  offered  in  saerifice,  which 
was  almost  the  only  kind  of  animal  food  that  could  be 
bought  in  the  market.  This  question  he  bids  them  con- 
sider not  in  the  abstract,  but  as  it  bears  on  the  interests  of 
Christian  society,  and  as  it  is  likely  to  affect  not  only  their 
own  character  but  the  character  and  feelings  of  their  fellow- 
Christians.  In  this  connection  he  cites  his  own  example 
of  self-denial  even  in  things  lawful.^  In  the  next  four 
chapters^  he  lays  down  directions  for  the  guidance  of  his 
converts  in  viatters  of  public  ivorship, — dealing  with  such 
questions  as  the  wearing  of  a  covering  on  the  head  in  the 
public  services,  the  duty  of  a  modest  reticence  on  the  part 
of  the  female  members  of  the  congregation,  the  necessity 
for  sobriety  and  decorum  in  the  celebration  of  the  Lord's 
Supper,  the  harmony  and  common  end  of  the  various  gifts 
conferred  by  the  Spirit  (of  which  he  enumerates  no  less 
than  nine),^  the  superiority  of  love  to  all  such  gifts,  the 
relative  value  and  importance  of  the  several  gifts,  and  the 
propriety  of  making  the  religious  services  intelligible  to  all, 
so  that  they  may  be  able  to  join  in  the  loud  Amen  as  the 
token  of  their  fellowship.  He  sums  up  his  teaching  on 
public  worship  in  the  two  cardinal  principles,  "  let  all  things 

1  vii.  lo  :  "  But  unto  the  married  please  all  men  in  all  things,  not  seeking 
I  give  charge,  yea  not  I,  but  the  Lord  "  ;  mine  own  profit,  but  the  profit  of  the 
ver.  12  :   "  But  to  the  rest  say  I,  not  the       many,  that  they  may  be  saved." 

Lord  "  ;     ver.    25  :    "  Now    concerning  *  xi. — xiv. 

virgins  I  have  no  commandment  of  the  ^  xij_    8-1 1:     "For   to   one   is   given 

Lord  :  but  I  give  my  judgement,  as  one  through  the  Spirit  the  word  of  wisdom  ; 

that  hath  obtained  mercy  of  the  Lord  to  and  to  another  the  word  of  knowledge, 

be   faithful";    ver.    40:     "But   she    is  according  to  the  same  Spirit :  to  another 

happier  if  she  abide  as  she  is,  after  my  faith,  in  the  same  Spirit ;  and  to  another 

judgement ;  and  I  think  that  I  also  have  gifts  of  healings,  in  the  one  Spirit ;  and 

the  Spirit  of  God."  to  another  workings  of  miracles  ;  and  to 

2  viii. — X.  another  prophecy  ;  and  to  another  dis- 

3  X.  23:  "All  things  are  lawful;  but  cernings  of  spirits:  to  another  divers 
all  things  are  not  expedient.  All  things  kinds  of  tongues  ;  and  to  another  the 
are  lawful;  but  all  things  edify  not."  interpretation  of  tongues  :  but  all  these 
X.  32,  33:  "Give  no  occasion  of  stum-  worketh  the  one  and  the  same  Spirit, 
bling,  either  to  Jews,  or  to  Greeks,  or  dividing  to  each  one  severally  even  as 
to  the  church  of  God  :  even  as  I  also  he  will." 


X. 


I  Corinthians. 


II 


be  done  unto  edifying,"  "let  all  things  be  done  decently  and 
in  order."  ^  The  fifteenth  chapter  contains  a  dissertation 
of  incomparable  value  on  the  resuri'ection  of  the  dead — a 
doctrine  which  some  of  the  Corinthians  had  begun  to  call 
in  question,  partly  in  a  spirit  of  worldly-mindedness,  and 
partly  as  the  result  of  a  sceptical  philosophy.'^  It  was  the 
future  general  resurrection  that  they  doubted,  not  the 
historical  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  latter  fact  being 
so  fully  accepted  that  one  of  the  apostle's  chief  arguments 
against  their  scepticism  was  that  it  would  involve  the  re- 
jection of  the  testimony  to  Christ's  resurrection.^  In  the 
course  of  the  argument  we  have  a  summary  of  evidences  for 
the  historical  reality  of  our  Lord's  resurrection,  delivered 
within  twenty-five  or  thirty  years  after  His  death,  while 
most  of  the  witnesses  were  still  alive.*  The  last  chapter 
contains  a  number  of  directions  and  intimations  having 
reference,  among  other  things,  to  tJie  collection  for  the  poor 
saints  at  Jcnisalevi  (which  the  apostle  hoped  to  find  ready 
on  his  next  visit  to  Corinth), — after  which  the  epistle  con- 
cludes  with    the    usual    kind    messages    and    autograph 


greetmg. 


1  xiv.  26,  40. 

2  XV.  33-35:  "Evil  company  doth 
corrupt  good  manners.  Awake  up 
righteously,  and  sin  not ;  for  some  have 
no  knowledge  of  God  :  I  speak  this  to 
move  you  to  shame.  But  some  one 
will  say,  How  are  the  dead  raised  ?  and 
with  what  manner  of  body  do  they 
come?  " 

3  XV.  13-16:  "But  if  there  is  no  re- 
surrection of  the  dead,  neither  hath 
Christ  been  raised  :  and  if  Christ  hath 
not  been  raised,  then  is  our  preaching 
vain,  your  faith  also  is  vain.  Yea,  and 
we  are  found  false  witnesses  of  God  ; 
because  we  witnessed  of  God  that  he 


raised  up  Christ :  whom  he  raised  not 
up,  if  so  be  that  the  dead  are  not  raised. 
For  if  the  dead  are  not  raised,  neither 
hath  Christ  been  raised." 

■*  XV.  4-8  :  ' '  And  that  he  was  buried  ; 
and  that  he  hath  been  raised  on  the 
third  day  according  to  the  scriptures  ; 
and  that  he  appeared  to  Cephas  ;  then 
to  the  twelve ;  then  he  appeared  to 
above  five  hundred  brethren  at  once,  of 
whom  the  greater  part  remain  until  now, 
but  some  are  fallen  asleep  ;  then  he  ap- 
peared to  James ;  then  to  all  the  apostles ; 
and  last  of  all,  as  unto  one  born  out  of 
due  time,  he  appeared  to  me  also." 


H 


CHAPTER   XI. 

"THE   SECOND   EPISTLE   OF   PAUL   THE   APOSTLE   TO   THE 
CORINTHIANS." 

I.   Aztthorship. 

The  Pauline  authorship  of  this  epistle  is  involved  in  that 
of  I  Corinthians.  There  is  in  several  points  such  a  subtle 
harmony  between  them  as  can  only  be  accounted  for  by 
their  common  authorship  ;  ^  and  the  impression  that  both 
are  genuine  writings  of  Paul  is  confirmed  by  an  exam- 
ination of  relative  passages  in  the  Book  of  Acts.- 

That  the  author  did  not  derive  his  information  from  the 
Book  of  Acts  may  be  inferred  from  the  circumstance  that 
the  name  of  Titus,  which  is  prominent  in  the  epistle,  is  not 
once  mentioned  in  Acts.  The  same  conclusion  may  be 
drawn  from  a  comparison  of  their  respective  allusions  to 
the  attempts  made  upon  Paul's  life  and  liberty  at  Damascus 
after  his  conversion,^  as  well  as  from  the  fact  that  the 
enumeration  of  his  trials  in  the  eleventh  chapter  •^  contains 
a  number  of  striking  statements  which  have  nothing  corre- 
sponding to  them  in  the  Book  of  Acts,  though  at  the  same 
time  there  is  nothing  inconsistent  with  them.  With  regard 
to  the  apparent  discrepancy  as  to  the  number  of  his  visits 
to  Corinth,^  see  page  117. 

1  and  2.    See  notes  A  and  B  appended  they  watched  the  gates  also  day  and 

to  this  chapter.     The  illustrations  are  night  that  they  might  kill  him  :  but  his 

taken  from  Paley's//6i;Y£'P<zz^//7<'ff', where  disciples   took   him   by  night,   and   let 

they  are  set  forth  at  greater  length.  him   down  through  the  wall,  lowering 

3  xi.  32  :   "  In  Damascus  the  governor  him  in  a  basket." 

under  Aretas  the  king  guarded  the  city  ^  xi.  24,  25  :   "Of  the  Jews  five  times 

of  the  Damascenes,  in  order  to  take  me  :  received     I     forty     stripes     save     one. 

and  through  a  window  was  I  let  down  Thrice  was   I    beaten  with   rods,  once 

in  a  basket  by  the  wall,  and  escaped  was   I   stoned,   thrice  I   suffered   ship- 

his  hands."     Acts  ix.  23,   24:    "And  wreck,  a  night  and  a  day  have  I  been 

when  many  days  were  fulfilled,  the  Jews  in  the  deep." 

took  counsel  together  to  kill  him:  but  ^  xiii.   i. 
their  plot  became  known  to  Saul.     And 


XI.  2  CorintJiians.  115 

Apart  from  the  minute  correspondences  above  referred 
to,  there  is  a  living  interest  and  an  air  of  reality  about  the 
epistle,  scarcely  ever  met  with  in  forgeries,  especially  of 
that  early  period. 

With  regard  to  external  evidence  a  few  echoes  of  expres- 
sions occurring  in  the  epistle  are  to  be  found  in  the 
fragmentary  writings  that  have  come  down  to  us  from  the 
beginning  of  the  second  century.  By  the  end  of  that 
century  the  quotations  from  the  epistle  in  the  writings  of 
Irenseus,  Tertullian,  &c.,  are  explicit  and  unmistakable. 

The  amanuensis  in  this  case  was  probably  Timothy,  as 
he  is  associated  with  the  apostle  in  the  opening  verse.^ 

2.    The  Readers. 

"  Unto  the  church  of  God  which  is  at  Corinth,  with  all 
the  saints  which  are  in  the  whole  of  Achaia"  (i.  i,).  See 
page  105. 

3.  Date  and  Place  of  Composition. 

It  was  evidently  written  a  few  months  after  the  first 
epistle,  say  in  the  summer  of  57  or  58  A.D.,  from  some  town 
in  Macedonia,  probably  Thessalonica.^ 

In  the  interval  the  apostle  had  left  Ephesus,  after  his 
narrow  escape  from  the  violence  of  the  crowd,  and  had 
proceeded  to  Troas,  where  he  anxiously  expected  the 
arrival  of  Titus.^  The  latter  had  been  sent  to  Corinth, 
either  with  the  first  epistle  or  shortly  after  its  dispatch,  to 
enforce  the  apostle's  views  and  to  bring  him  back  word  of 


1  "  Paul,  an  apostle  of  Christ  Jesus  you  ignorant,  brethren,  concerning  our 
through  the  will  of  God,  and  Timothy  affliction  which  befell  us  in  Asia,  that  we 
our  brother."     (i.  i.)  were  weighed  down  exceedingly,  beyond 

2  "  From  Philippi,"  according  to  note  our  power,  insomuch  that  we  despaired 
at  the  end  of  the  epistle  in  A.V.  But  even  of  life  :  yea,  we  ourselves  have  had 
this  is  not  so  probable  in  view  of  the  the  answer  of  death  within  ourselves, 
fact  that  the  apostle  seems  to  have  that  we  should  not  trust  in  ourselves, 
already  visited  the  Churches  of  Mace-  but  in  God  which  raiseth  the  dead  :  who 
donia  (viii.  1-4),  for  in  the  course  of  delivered  us  out  of  so  great  a  death, 
doing  so  Philippi  would  naturally  come  and  will  deliver  :  on  whom  we  have  set 
first,  to  one  travelling  southward.  our  hope  that  he  will  also  still  deliver 

3  i.  8-10:    "For  we  would  not  have  us." 


ii6 


New  Testament  and  Its  Writers. 


XI. 


the  effect  produced  by  his  epistle  at  this  momentous  crisis 
in  the  history  of  his  most  influential  Church.^ 

In  his  disappointment  at  not  finding  Titus,  he  had  no 
heart  to  embrace  the  opportunity  of  preaching  at  Troas, 
and  had  proceeded  to  Macedonia,  where  Titus  at  length 
joined  him.^  It  was  after  getting  Titus'  report,  bringing 
him  great  relief  of  mind  in  the  midst  of  his  severe  trials 
and  heavy  responsibilities,^  that  he  appears  to  have  written 
this  epistle, — which  he  sent  by  the  hands  of  Titus  and 
"  the  brother  whose  praise  in  the  gospel  is  spread  through 
all  the  churches."  ^ 


1  viii.  6  :  "  Insomuch  that  we  exhorted 
Titus,  that  as  he  had  made  a  beginning 
before,  so  he  would  also  complete  in 
you  this  grace  also"  {i.e.  the  liberality 
referred  to  in  previous  verses),  xii.  i8  : 
"  I  exhorted  Titus,  and  I  sent  the 
brother  with  him.  Did  Titus  take  any 
advantage  of  you?  walked  we  not  by 
the  same  Spirit  ?  walked  we  not  in  the 
same  steps?"  cf.  i  Cor.  xvi.  12:  "But 
as  touching  Apollos  the  brother,  I  be- 
sought him  much  to  come  unto  you 
with  the  brethren  :  and  it  was  not  at  all 
his  will  to  come  now  ;  but  he  will  come 
when  he  shall  have  opportunity." 

2  ii.  12,  13:  "Now  when  I  came  to 
Troas  for  the  gospel  of  Christ,  and 
when  a  door  was  opened  unto  me  in 
the  Lord,  I  had  no  relief  for  my  spirit, 
because  I  found  not  Titus  my  brother  : 
but  taking  my  leave  of  them,  I  went 
forth  into  Macedonia "  ;  vii.  5,  6 : 
(quoted  below). 

3  vii.  4-16:  "Great  is  my  boldness 
of  speech  toward  you,  great  is  my 
glorying  on  your  behalf :  I  am  filled 
with  comfort,  I  overflow  with  joy  in  all 
our  affliction.  For  even  when  we  were 
come  into  Macedonia,  our  flesh  had 
no  relief,  but  we  were  afflicted  on  every 
side  ;  without  were  fightings,  within 
were  fears.  Nevertheless  he  that 
comforteth  the  lowly,  even  God,  com- 
forted us  by  the  coming  of  Titus  ;  and 
not  by  his  coming  only,  but  also  by  the 
comfort  wherewith  he  was  comforted 
in  you,  while  he  told  us  your  longing, 
your  mourning,  your  zeal  for  me  ;  so 
that  I  rejoiced  yet  more.  For  though 
I  made  you  sorry  with  my  epistle,  I  do 
not  regret  it,  though  I  did  regret ;  for 
I  see  that  that  epistle  made  you  sorry, 
though  but  for  a  season.    Now  I  rejoice, 


not  that  ye  were  made  sorry,  but  that 
ye  were  made  sorry  unto  repentance : 
for  ye  were  made  sorry  after  a  godly 
sort,  that  ye  might  suffer  loss  by  us  in 
nothing.  For  godly  sorrow  worketh 
repentance  unto  salvation,  a  repentance 
which  bringeth  no  regret :  but  the 
sorrow  of  the  world  worketh  death. 
For  behold,  this  selfsame  thing,  that 
ye  were  made  sorry  after  a  godly  sort, 
what  earnest  care  it  wrought  in  you, 
yea,  what  clearing  of  yourselves,  yea, 
what  indignation,  yea,  what  fear,  yea, 
what  longing,  yea,  what  zeal,  yea, 
what  avenging  !  In  everything  ye  ap- 
proved yourselves  to  be  pure  in  the 
matter.  So  although  I  wrote  unto  you, 
I  wrote  not  for  his  cause  that  did  the 
wrong,  nor  for  his  cause  that  suffered 
the  wrong,  but  that  your  earnest  care 
for  us  might  be  made  manifest  unto 
you  in  the  sight  of  God.  Therefore  we 
have  been  comforted  :  and  in  our 
comfort  we  joyed  the  more  exceedingly 
for  the  joy  of  Titus,  because  his  spirit 
hath  been  refreshed  by  you  all.  For 
if  in  anything  I  have  gloried  to  him 
on  your  behalf,  I  was  not  put  to  shame  ; 
but  as  we  spake  all  things  to  you  in 
truth,  so  our  glorying  also,  which  I 
made  before  Titus,  was  found  to  be 
truth.  And  his  inward  affection  is 
more  abundantly  toward  you,  whilst  he 
remembereth  the  obedience  of  you  all, 
how  with  fear  and  trembling  ye  received 
him.  I  rejoice  that  in  everything  I  am 
of  good  courage  concerning  you."  xi.  28: 
"Beside  those  things  that  are  without, 
there  is  that  which  presseth  upon  me 
daily,  anxiety  for  all  the  churches." 

4  viii.  6,  16-18:  "Insomuch  that  we 
exhorted  Titus,  that  as  he  had  made  a 
beginning  before,    so    he    would    also 


xr.  2  Corinthians.  117 

A  difficulty  has  been  raised  about  the  expression, 
"  This  is  the  third  time  I  am  coming  to  you."  ^  Some 
think  the  apostle  had  paid  a  second  visit  to  Corinth,  from 
Ephesus,  prior  to  the  writing  of  his  first  epistle.  But 
another  explanation  is  to  be  found  in  the  importance 
attaching  to  the  visit  he  had  intended  to  pay  on  his  way 
to  Macedonia.^  The  confidence  of  the  Corinthians  in  him 
had  been  shaken  by  the  disappointment  he  had  caused 
them  ;  and  he  wished  to  impress  upon  them  the  reality  of 
his  intention,  although  he  had  been  unable  to  fulfil  it.  No 
doubt,  on  this  supposition,  he  would  have  been  more 
strictly  accurate  if  he  had  said,  as  he  does  elsewhere,^ 
"  Behold,  this  is  the  third  time  I  am  ready  to  come  to  you." 

4.   Character  and  Co?itents. 

If  the  first  epistle  may  be  said  to  be  our  great  instructor 
regarding  the  inner  life  of  the  Clnirxh,  the  second  is  our 
chief  source  of  information  regarding  the  personality  of 
the  apostle  Jiimself.  It  is  an  outpouring  of  personal  feeling 
almost  from  beginning  to  end,  expressing  itself  in  many 
different  moods  and  with  a  great  variety  of  style.  It  is 
well  described  by  Erasmus,  when  he  says  that  "  at  one 
time  the  apostle  wells  up  ge.itly  like  some  limpid  spring, 
and  by  and  by  thunders  down  like  a  torrent  with  a 
mighty  crash,  carrying  everything  before  it ;  now  he  flows 
placidly  and  smoothly,  now  spreads  out  far  and  wide,  as  if 
expanding  into  a  lake,  then  disappears,  and  suddenly 
reappears  in  a  different  place."  But  although  the  least 
systematic  of  Paul's  writings,  it  contains  many  passages 
of  priceless  worth,  for  the  comfort  and  edification  of  the 
Church. 

complete  in  you  this  grace   also.  ...  i  xiii.  i. 

But  thanks  be  to  God,    which    putteth  2  j.  j^,  16:   "And  in  this  confidence 

the  same  earnest  care  for  you  into  the  I  was  minded  to  come  before  unto  you, 

heart  of  Titus.     For  indeed  he  accepted  that  ye  might  have  a  second  benefit  ; 

our    exhortation  ;    but    being    himself  and   by  you  to   pass   into    Macedonia, 

very  earnest,  he  went  forth  unto  you  of  and   again    from    Macedonia   to   come 

his   own   accord.     And    we   have   sent  unto  you,  and  of  you  to  be  set  forward 

together   with  him   the  brother   whose  on  my  journey  unto  Judoea." 

praise  in  the  gospel  is  spread  through  •*  xii.  14. 
all  the  churches." 


ii8 


New  Testament  and  Its  Writers. 


XI. 


The  apostle  had  learned  from  Titus  that  his  first  letter 
had  served  its  purpose,  and  that  the  interests  of  Church 
discipline  had  been  secured.  But  the  same  messenger 
had  informed  him  that  fresh  cause  for  anxiety  had  arisen 
in  the  rapid  growth  of  a  party  hostile  to  his  influence,  who 
were  seeking  to  trade  upon  the  disaffection  which  had  been 
caused  among  his  converts  by  his  failure  to  visit  them 
according  to  promise.^ 

Traces  of  such  opposition  are  discernible  even  in  the 
first  epistle ;  ^  but  it  had  been  greatly  stimulated  by  the 
intrigues  and  false  pretensions  of  rival  teachers  from 
Jerusalem,  who  had  brought  letters  of  commendation  with 
them,  and  were  using  Peter's  name,  and  even  that  of  Christ, 
for  party  purposes.^ 


^  i.  15-17  {y^'.  15,  16  quoted  above) ; 
ver.  17:  "When  I  therefore  was  thus 
minded,  did  I  shew  fickleness?  or  the 
things  that  I  purpose,  do  I  purpose 
according  to  the  flesh,  that  with  me 
there  should  be  the  yea  yea  and  the  nay 
nay?  " 

2  I  Cor.  i.  12:  "Now  this  I  mean 
that  each  one  of  you  saith,  I  am  of  Paul 
and  I  of  ApoUos ;  and  I  of  Cephas" 
I  Cor.  ix.  1-6  (quoted  p.  103,  ?tofe  3). 

3  ii.  17 :  "  For  we  are  not  as  the 
many,  corrupting  the  word  of  God : 
but  as  of  sincerity,  but  as  of  God,  in 
the  sight  of  God,  speak  we  in  Christ." 
iii.  I,  2:  "Are  we  beginning  again  to 
commend  ourselves?  or  need  we,  as  do 
some,  epistles  of  commendation  to  you 
or  from  you?  Ye  are  our  epistle, 
written  in  our  hearts,  known  and  read 
of  all  men."  v.  12:  "We  are  not  again 
commending  ourselves  unto  you,  but 
speak  as  giving  you  occasion  of  glorying 
on  our  behalf,  that  ye  may  ha\'e  where- 
with to  answer  them  that  glory  in 
appearance,  and  not  in  heart."  x.  7-12, 
18:  "Ye  look  at  the  things  that  are 
before  your  face.  If  any  man  trusteth 
in  himself  that  he  is  Christ's,  let  him 
consider  this  again  with  himself,  that, 
even  as  he  is  Christ's,  so  also  are  we. 
For  though  I  should  glory  somewhat 
abundantly  concerning  our  authority 
(which  the  Lord  gave  for  building  you 
up  and  not  for  casting  you  down),  I 
shall  not  be  put  to  shame :  that  I  may 
not  seem  as  if  I  would  terrify  you  by 
my  letters.     For,  His  letters,  they  say, 


are  weighty  and  strong  ;  but  his  bodily 
presence  is  weak,  and  his  speech  of  no 
account.  Let  such  a  one  reckon  this, 
that,  what  we  are  in  word  by  letters 
when  we  are  absent,  such  are  we  also 
in  deed  when  we  are  present.  For  we 
are  not  bold  to  number  or  compare 
ourselves  with  certain  of  them  that 
commend  themselves  :  but  they  them- 
selves, measuring  themselves  by  them- 
selves, and  comparing  themselves  with 
themselves,  are  without  understanding. 
.  .  .  B'or  not  he  that  commendeth  himself 
is  approved,  but  whom  the  Lord  com- 
mendeth."  xi.  3-5,  12-15,  22,  23  :  "  But 
I  fear,  lest  by  any  means,  as  the  serpent 
beguiled  Eve  in  his  craftiness,  your 
minds  should  be  corrupted  from  the 
simplicity  and  the  purity  that  is  toward 
Christ.  For  if  he  that  cometh  preach- 
eth  another  Jesus,  whom  we  did  not 
preach,  or  if  ye  receive  a  different 
spirit,  which  ye  did  not  receive,  or  a 
different  gospel,  which  ye  did  not  accept, 
ye  do  well  to  bear  with  him.  .  .  .  But 
what  I  do,  that  I  will  do,  that  I  may  cut 
off  occasion  from  them  which  desire  an 
occasion ;  that  wherein  they  glory, 
they  may  be  found  even  as  we.  For 
such  men  are  false  apostles,  deceitful 
workers,  fashioning  themselves  into 
apostles  of  Christ.  And  no  marvel ; 
for  even  Satan  fashioneth  himself  into 
an  angel  of  light.  It  is  no  great  thing 
therefore  if  his  ministers  also  fashion 
themselves  as  ministers  of  righteous- 
ness ;  whose  end  shall  be  according 
to  their  works.  .  .  .  Are  they  Hebrews  ? 


XI.  2  Corinthians.  119 

To  defeat  the  efforts  of  these  Judaising  teachers,  and  to 
refute  the  charges  and  insinuations  which  they  were  bring- 
ing against  him,  was  the  main  object  of  this  epistle.  By- 
doing  so  the  apostle  hoped  to  obviate  the  necessity  for  any 
sharp  dealing  after  he  arrived  at  Corinth.^ 

In  the  first  half  of  the  epistle^  Paul  seeks  to  conciliate  the 
affection  of  his  converts  by  giving  them  an  account  of  his 
sufferings  and  of  the  anxiety  he  had  felt  on  their  behalf. 
He  explains  that  his  delay  in  visiting  them  had  not  been 
owing  to  any  fickleness  of  purpose  on  his  part,  but  to  a 
desire  for  the  restoration  of  peace  and  purity  before  he 
came  among  them.  He  gives  a  frank  exposition  of  his 
views  and  feelings,  his  trials  and  supports,  as  a  minister  of 
Christ,  making  glad  and  thankful  acknowledgment  of 
the  kind  reception  they  had  given  to  his  deputy,  and  of 
the  full  amends  they  had  made  in  the  important  case  of 
Church  discipline  about  which  he  had  written  to  them. 
In  the  two  succeeding  chapters  ^  he  exhorts  them  to  a 
prompt  and  liberal  fulfilment  of  their  promise  to  contribute 
for  the  relief  of  the  needy  brethren  at  Jerusalem, — a  promise 
of  which  he  had  boasted  to  the  Churches  at  Macedonia, 
in  order  to  stimulate  their  generosity.  In  this  connection 
he  sets  forth  more  fully  than  anywhere  else  in  his  writ- 
ings the  motives  and  dispositions  which  should  actuate 
Christians  in  the  discharge  of  this  duty  of  pecuniary 
liberality. 

At  this  point  there  is  a  sudden  change  in  the  apostle's 
tone ;  and  the  remainder  of  the  epistle  is  devoted  to  a 
vindication  of  his  character  as  an  apostle.     He  enumerates 

so  am  I.  Are  they  Israelites  ?  so  am  I.  I  should  find  you  not  such  as  I  would, 
Are  they  the  seed  of  Abraham  ?  so  am  and  should  myself  be  found  of  you 
I.  Are  they  ministers  of  Christ?  (I  such  as  ye  would  not;  lest  by  any 
speak  as  one  beside  himself)  I  more  ;  means  there  should  be  strife,  jealousy, 
in  labours  more  abundantly,  in  prisons  wraths,  factions,  backbitings,  whisper- 
more  abundantly,  in  stripes  above  ings,  swellings,  tumults  ;  lest,  when  I 
measure,  in  deaths  oft."  come  again,  my  God  should  humble 
1  xiii.  10:  "For  this  cause  I  write  me  before  you,  and  I  should  mourn 
these  things  while  absent,  that  I  may  for  many  of  them  that  have  sinned 
not  when  present  deal  sharply,  accord-  heretofore,  and  repented  not  of  the 
ing  to  the  authority  which  the  Lord  uncleanness  and  fornication  and 
gave  me  for  building  up,  and  not  for  lasciviousness  which  they  committed." 
casting  down."  xii.  20,  21:  "For  I  2  chaps,  i. — vii. 
fear,  lest  by  any  means,  when  I  come,           ^  Chaps,  viii.,  ix. 


1 20  New  Testament  and  Its  Writers.  xi. 

his  many  claims  to  the  respect  and  obedience  of  his 
converts,  and  closes  with  an  impressive  salutation,  followed 
by  the  form  of  Benediction  which  has  now  become  so 
general  in  the  Church  :  "  The  grace  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  and  the  love  of  God,  and  the  communion  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  be  with  you  all." 

That  the  epistle  succeeded  in  regaining,  or  rather  in 
retaining,  for  the  apostle  the  general  confidence  of  his 
Corinthian  converts,  may  be  inferred  from  the  veneration 
in  which  his  memory  was  held  amongst  them  a  few  years 
after  his  death.  Of  this  veneration  we  find  unmistakable 
tokens  in  the  epistle  of  Clement  to  the  Corinthians, 
written  towards  the  close  of  the  first  century. 


Note  A  (p.   1 14). 

(i)  I  Cor.  xvi.  5  :  "But  I  will  come  unto  you,  when  I  shall  have 
passed  through  Macedonia  ;  for  I  do  pass  through  Macedonia." 

In  the  following  passages  we  can  trace  the  fulfilment  of  this  inten- 
tion on  the  part  of  the  apostle  to  visit  Macedonia : — 2  Cor.  vii.  4-7  : 
"  Great  is  my  boldness  of  speech  toward  you,  great  is  my  glorying  on 
your  behalf :  I  am  filled  with  comfort,  I  overflow  with  joy  in  all  our 
afifliction.  For  even  when  we  were  come  into  Macedonia,  our  flesh 
had  no  relief,  but  we  were  afflicted  on  every  side  ;  without  were 
fightings,  within  were  fears.  Nevertheless  he  that  comforteth  the 
lowly,  even  God,  comforted  us  by  the  coming  of  Titus  ;  and  not  by 
his  coming  only,  but  also  by  the  comfort  wherewith  he  was  comforted 
in  you,  while  he  told  us  your  longing,  your  mourning,  your  zeal  for 
me;  so  that  I  rejoiced  yet  more";  2  Cor.  i.x.  1-4:  "For  as  touching 
the  ministering  to  the  saints,  it  is  superfluous  for  me  to  write  to  you  : 
for  I  know  your  readiness,  of  which  1  glory  on  your  behalf  to  them  of 
Macedonia,  that  Achaia  hath  been  prepared  for  a  year  past ;  and 
your  zeal  hath  stirred  up  very  many  of  them.  But  I  have  sent  the 
brethren,  that  our  glorying  on  your  behalf  may  not  be  made  void  in 
this  respect ;  that,  even  as  I  said,  ye  may  be  prepared  :  lest  by  any 
means,  if  there  come  with  me  any  of  Macedonia,  and  find  you  un- 
prepared, we  (that  we  say  not,  ye)  should  be  put  to  shame  in  this 
confidence." 

(2)  I  Cor.  V.  1-5:  "It  is  actually  reported  that  there  is  fornication 
among  you,  and  such  fornication  as  is  not  even  among  the  Gentiles, 


XI.  2  Corinthians.  1 2 1 


that  one  of  you  hath  his  father's  wife.  And  ye  are  puffed  up,  and  did 
not  rather  mourn,  that  he  that  had  done  this  deed  might  be  taken 
away  from  among  you.  For  I  verily,  being  absent  in  body  but 
present  in  spirit,  have  already,  as  though  I  were  present,  judged  him 
that  hath  so  wrought  this  thing,  in  the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus,  ye 
being  gathered  together,  and  my  spirit,  with  the  power  of  our  Lord 
Jesus,  to  deliver  such  a  one  unto  Satan  for  the  destruction  of  the  flesh, 
that  the  spirit  may  be  saved  in  the  day  of  the  Lord  Jesus." 

From  the  following  passages  we  gather  that  the  sentence  thus  pro- 
nounced was  duly  executed,  with  good  results  both  to  the  offender  him- 
self and  the  members  of  the  congregation  : — 2  Cor.  ii.  (y^i:  "  Sufficient 
to  such  a  one  is  this  punishment  which  was  inflicted  by  the  many ;  so 
that  contrariwise  ye  should  rather  forgive  him  and  comfort  him,  lest 
by  any  means  such  a  one  should  be  swallowed  up  with  his  overmuch 
sorrow."  2  Cor.  vii.  6-8  :  "  Nevertheless  he  that  comforteth  the  lowly, 
even  God,  comforted  us  by  the  coming  of  Titus  ;  and  not  by  his 
coming  only,  but  also  by  the  comfort  wherewith  he  was  comforted  in 
you,  while  he  told  us  your  longing,  your  mourning,  your  zeal  for  me  ; 
so  that  I  rejoiced  yet  more.  For  though  I  made  you  sorry  with  my 
epistle,  I  do  not  regret  it,  though  I  did  regret ;  for  I  see  that  that 
epistle  made  you  sorry,  though  but  for  a  season."  .  .  .  ver.  12:  "So 
although  I  wrote  unto  you,  I  wrote  not  for  his  cause  that  did  the 
wrong,  nor  for  his  cause  that  suffered  the  wrong,  but  that  your  earnest 
care  for  us  might  be  made  manifest  unto  you  in  the  sight  of  God."  It 
is  to  be  observed  that  the  terms  of  the  last-quoted  verse  are  precisely 
applicable  to  such  a  social  offence  as  is  referred  to  in  the  first  epistle. 

(3)  I  Cor.  xvi.  1,2:  "  Now  concerning  the  collection  for  the  saints, 
as  I  gave  order  to  the  churches  of  Galatia,  so  also  do  ye.  Upon  the 
first  day  of  the  week  let  each  one  of  you  lay  by  him  in  store,  as  he 
may  prosper,  that  no  collections  be  made  when  I  come." 

The  collection  thus  introduced  as  a  matter  with  which  the  Corin- 
thians were  already  familiar,  is  several  times  alluded  to  in  the  second 
epistle  —  in  such  a  way  as  to  imply  that  while  the  resolution  to 
contribute  had  been  formed  a  whole  year  before,  the  actual  pay- 
ment to  the  treasurers  to  be  approved  by  the  Corinthians  had  not 
yet  been  made.  2  Cor.  viii.  10,  11  :  "And  herein  I  give  my  judg- 
ment :  for  this  is  expedient  for  you,  who  were  the  first  to  make  a 
beginning  a  year  ago,  not  only  to  do,  but  also  to  will.  But  now 
complete  the  doing  also  ;  that  as  there  was  the  readiness  to  will,  so 
there  may  be  the  completion  also  out  of  your  ability"  ;  2  Cor.  ix.  1-4 
(cjuoted  p.  120,  Note  A  (i)  )  ;  ver.  5  :  "  I  thought  it  necessary  therefore 
to  intreat  the  brethren,  that  they  would  go  before  unto  you,  and  make 
up  beforehand  your  aforepromised  bounty,  that  the  same  might  be 
ready,  as  a  matter  of  bounty,  and  not  of  extortion"  ;  ver.  7  :  "Let 
each  man  do  according  as  he  hath  purposed  in  his  heart.  .  .  ." 


122  New  Testament  and  Its  Writers.  xi. 


Note  B  (p.    114). 

(i)  Acts  xix. 23 — XX. I  :  "And  about  that  time  there  arose  no  small 
stir  concerning  the  Way.  For  a  certain  man  named  Demetrius,  a 
silversmith,  which  made  silver  shrines  of  Diana,  brought  no  little 
business  unto  the  craftsmen  ;  whom  he  gathered  together,  with  the 
workmen  of  like  occupation,  and  said.  Sirs,  ye  know  that  by  this 
business  we  have  our  wealth.  And  ye  see  and  hear,  that  not  alone  at 
Ephesus,  but  almost  throughout  all  Asia,  this  Paul  hath  persuaded 
and  turned  away  much  people,  saying  that  they  be  no  gods,  which 
are  made  with  hands  :  and  not  only  is  there  danger  that  this  our 
trade  come  into  disrepute  ;  but  also  that  the  temple  of  the  great 
goddess  Diana  be  made  of  no  account,  and  that  she  should  even 
be  deposed  from  her  magnificence,  whom  all  Asia  and  the  world 
worshippeth.  And  when  they  heard  this,  they  were  filled  with  wrath, 
and  cried  out,  saying,  Great  is  Diana  of  the  Ephesians.  And  the  city 
was  filled  with  the  confusion  :  and  they  rushed  with  one  accord  into 
the  theatre,  having  seized  Gaius  and  Aristarchus,  men  of  Macedonia, 
Paul's  companions  in  travel.  And  when  Paul  was  minded  to  enter  in 
unto  the  people,  the  disciples  suffered  him  not.  And  certain  also 
of  the  chief  officers  of  Asia,  being  his  friends,  sent  unto  him,  and 
besought  him  not  to  adventure  himself  into  the  theatre.  .  .  .  And 
after  the  uproar  was  ceased,  Paul  having  sent  for  the  disciples  and 
exhorted  them,  took  leave  of  them,  and  departed  for  to  go  into 
Macedonia." 

This  narrative  throws  light,  evidently  undesignedly,  on  the  apostle's 
thankful  remembrance  of  his  deliverance  from  "  the  affliction  which 
befell  (us)  in  Asia"  that  meets  us  at  the  opening  of  the  second 
epistle.  2  Cor.  i.  8-10:  "For  we  would  not  have  you  ignorant, 
brethren,  concerning  our  affliction  which  befell  us  in  Asia,  that 
we  were  weighed  down  exceedingly,  beyond  our  power,  insomuch 
that  we  despaired  even  of  life  :  yea,  we  ourselves  have  had  the  answer 
of  death  within  ourselves,  that  we  should  not  trust  in  ourselves,  but 
in  God  which  raiseth  the  dead  :  who  delivered  us  out  of  so  great  a 
death,  and  will  deliver  :  on  whom  we  have  set  our  hope  that  he  will 
also  still  deliver  us." 

(2)  2  Cor.  i.  15,  16  :  "And  in  this  confidence  I  was  minded  to  come 
before  unto  you,  that  ye  might  have  a  second  benefit ;  and  by  you  to 
pass  into  Macedonia,  and  again  from  Macedonia  to  come  unto  you, 
and  of  you  to  be  set  forward  on  my  journey  unto  Judaea."  .  .  .  ver.  23  : 
"  But  I  call  God  for  a  witness  upon  my  soul,  that  to  spare  you  I 
forbare  to  come  unto  Corinth."  ii.  1-4:  "But  I  determined  this  for 
myself,  that  I  would  not  come  again  to  you  with  sorrow.     For  if  I 


XI.  2  Corinthians.  123 

make  you  sorry,  who  then  is  he  that  maketh  me  glad,  but  he  that  is 
made  sorry  by  me?  And  I  wrote  this  very  thing,  lest,  when  I  came, 
I  should  have  sorrow  from  them  of  whom  I  ought  to  rejoice  ;  having 
confidence  in  you  all,  that  my  joy  is  the  joy  of  you  all.  For  out  of 
much  affliction  and  anguish  of  heart  I  wrote  unto  you  with  many 
tears  ;  not  that  ye  should  be  made  sorry,  but  that  ye  might  know  the 
love  which  I  have  more  abundantly  unto  you." 

From  these  allusions  it  appears  that  Paul  had  departed  from  his 
intention  of  passing  through  Corinth  on  his  way  to  Macedonia  ;  and 
it  was  after  this  change,  and  in  pursuance  of  it,  that  he  had  written 
the  epistle  referred  to, — which,  it  is  evident  from  the  context,  is  to  be 
identified  with  our  i  Corinthians.  This  coincidence  between  the  two 
epistles  finds  confirmation  and  explanation  in  Acts  xix.  21,  22  :  "  Now 
after  these  things  were  ended,  Paul  purposed  in  the  spirit,  when  he 
had  passed  through  Macedonia  and  Achaia,  to  go  to  Jerusalem,  say- 
ing. After  I  have  been  there,  I  must  also  see  Rome.  And  having 
sent  into  Macedonia  two  of  them  that  ministered  unto  him,  Timothy 
and  Erastus,  he  himself  stayed  in  Asia  for  a  while." 

(3)  Acts  xviii.  1-5  :  "After  these  things  he  departed  from  Athens, 
and  came  to  Corinth.  .  .  .  But  when  Silas  and  Timothy  came 
down  from  Macedonia,  Paul  was  constrained  by  the  word,  testifying 
to  the  Jews  that  Jesus  was  the  Christ." 

This  agrees  with  2  Cor.  i.  19,  from  which  we  learn  that  Silas  (under 
a  slightly  altered  name,  cf.  i  Thess.  i.  i.  Acts  xvii.  10)  and  Timothy  had 
assisted  Paul  in  preaching  to  the  Corinthians  :  "  For  the  Son  of  God, 
Jesus  Christ,  who  was  preached  among  you  by  us,  even  by  me  and 
Silvanus  and  Timothy,  was  not  yea  and  nay,  but  in  him  is  yea."  The 
agreement  is  enhanced  by  2  Cor.  xi.  9,  where  "the  brethren"  are  no 
doubt  to  be  identified  with  Timothy  and  Silas— "And  when  I  was 
present  with  you  and  was  in  want,  I  was  not  a  burden  on  any  man  ; 
for  the  brethren,  when  they  came  from  Macedonia,  supplied  the 
measure  of  my  want ;  and  in  everything  I  kept  myself  from  being 
burdensome  unto  you,  and  so  will  I  keep  myself." 

(4)  Acts  XX.  6,  7  :  "And  we  sailed  away  from  Philippi  after  the  days 
of  unleavened  bread,  and  came  unto  them  to  Troas  in  five  days  ;  where 
we  tarried  seven  days.  And  upon  the  first  day  of  the  week,  when  we 
were  gathered  together  to  break  bread,  Paul  discoursed  with  them, 
intending  to  depart  on  the  morrow ;  and  prolonged  his  speech  until 
midnight." 

From  these  verses  it  appears  that,  in  returning  from  Macedonia  on 
his  final  journey  to  Jerusalem,  Paul  stayed  a  week  at  Troas,  and  there 
found  a  Christian  congregation  ready  to  receive  Communion  at  his 
hands.  Now  there  is  no  previous  mention  in  the  Book  of  Acts  of  the 
existence  of  such  a  Church,  or  of  Paul's  having  preached  at  Troas, 
though  we  learn  it  was  from  that  city  he  set  sail  on  his  first  mission 


124  NeitJ  Testament  and  Its  Writers.  xi. 

to  Europe  (Acts  xvi.  8) ;  but  in  2  Corinthians  we  find  allusion 
made  to  a  visit  he  had  paid  to  Troas  on  his  way  to  Macedonia, 
when  "a  door  was  opened  unto  (him)  in  the  Lord,"  for  the  preach- 
ing of  the  Gospel;  2  Cor.  ii.  12,  13:  "Now  when  I  came  to 
Troas  for  the  gospel  of  Christ,  and  when  a  door  was  opened  unto 
me  in  the  Lord,  I  had  no  relief  for  my  spirit,  because  I  found 
not  Titus  my  brother  :  but  taking  my  leave  of  them,  I  went  forth  into 
Macedonia." 

That  this  visit  to  Troas  was  previous  to  that  in  Acts  xx.  6, 
above  referred  to,  is  proved  by  its  connection  with  the  apostle's 
expected  meeting  with  Titus,  which,  as  we  learn  from  2  Cor.  vii.  5-7, 
actually  took  place  in  Macedonia  before  the  apostle's  visit  to  Greece, 
which  preceded  his  last  journey  to  Jerusalem — "For  even  when  we 
were  come  into  Macedonia,  our  flesh  had  no  relief,  but  we  were 
afflicted  on  every  side  ;  without  were  fightings,  within  were  fears. 
Nevertheless  he  that  comforteth  the  lowly,  even  God,  comforted  us  by 
the  coming  of  Titus ;  and  not  by  his  coming  only,  but  also  by  the 
comfort  wherewith  he  was  comforted  in  you,  while  he  told  us  your 
longing,  your  mourning,  your  zeal  for  me  ;  so  that  I  rejoiced  yet 
more." 

(S)  Acts  xvi. 1 1 — xviii.18:  "Setting  sail  therefore  from  Troas,  we 
made  a  straight  course  to  Samothrace,  and  the  day  following  to 
Neapolis  ;  and  from  thence  to  Philippi,  which  is  a  city  of  Macedonia ; 
.  .  .  After  these  things  he  departed  from  Athens,  and  came  to 
Corinth.  . . .  And  Paul,  having  tarried  after  this  yet  many  days,  took  his 
leave  of  the  brethren,  and  sailed  thence  for  Syria,  and  with  him  Priscilla 
and  Aquila  ;  having  shorn  his  head  in  CenchrcjE  :  for  he  had  a  vow." 

In  this  narrative  of  the  only  missionary  tour  that  Paul  had  made  in 
Europe  previous  to  his  writing  2  Corinthians,  it  appears  that  Corinth 
had  been  the  farthest  limit  to  which  his  travels  and  labours  extended. 
In  remarkable  harmony  with  this  is  the  language  of  2  Cor.  x.  14-16  : 
"  For  we  stretch  not  ourselves  overmuch,  as  though  we  reached  not 
unto  you  :  for  we  came  even  as  far  as  unto  you  in  the  gospel  of  Christ  : 
not  glorying  beyond  our  measure,  that  is,  in  other  men's  labours  ;  but 
having  hope  that,  as  your  faith  groweth,  we  shall  be  magnified  in  you 
according  to  our  province  unto  further  abundance,  so  as  to  preach 
the  gospel  even  unto  the  parts  beyond  you,  and  not  to  glory  in 
another's  province  in  regard  of  things  ready  to  our  hand." 


CHAPTER  XII. 

"THE   EPISTLE   OF   PAUL   TO   THE   GALATIANS." 

I.   AutJwi'ship. 

This  is  another  epistle  whose  genuineness  is  scarcely  dis- 
puted. Its  main  topic — the  relation  of  Christians  to  the 
ceremonial  law  of  the  Jews — would  lead  us  to  fix  its  com- 
position at  a  period  anterior  to  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem, 
when  the  question  was  practically  set  at  rest. 

Its  character  a7id  style  are  inconsistent  with  the  idea  of 
forgery.  (i)  The  picture  which  it  gives  of  the  state  of 
the  Galatian  Church  is  too  life-like,  and  the  play  of 
feeling  it  exhibits  on  the  part  of  the  apostle  is  too  subtle 
for  the  inventive  power  of  an  age  so  little  skilled  in  that 
kind  of  fiction.^  (2)  Its  representation  of  facts,  as  regards 
the  relations  of  Paul  with  the  other  apostles,  is  too 
candid  to  have  been  got  up  in  the  interests  of  Church 
unity,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  too  free  in  its  expressions 
to  have  been  framed  in  the  interests  of  any  known  party 
in  the  Church.^  (3)  A  comparison  of  the  personal  and 
historical  allusions  in  the  epistle  with  statements  in  the 


1  "  It  is  not  a  mere  flourish  of  theo-  the  Apostles  of  the  Circumcision.  The 
logical  rhetoric  to  ask,  'Who  could  have  Ebionite  would  have  shrunk  with  loath- 
acted  that  passionate  emotion  which  ing  from  any  seeming  depreciation  of  the 
brings  to  light  so  many  traits  of  character  cherished  customs  or  the  acknowledged 
both  in  the  apostle  and  in  the  Church,  leaders  of  his  race — as  the  tone  of  the 
which  is  interwoven  by  so  many  threads  author  of  the  Clementines  shows.  The 
with  the  apostolical  age,  which  is  most  Catholic  writer,  forging  with  a  view  to 
natural  if  real,  and  all  but  inconceivable  'conciliation,'  would  be  more  unlikely 
if  due  to  the  imagination  of  a  forger?'"  than  either  to  invent  such  a  narrative, 
— Jowett  on  Galatians,  p.  351.  anxious  as  he  would  be  to  avoid  any 

"  "The  Gnostic,  who  wished  to  ad-  appearance  of  conflict  between  the  two 
vance  his  antipathy  to  Judaism  under  great  teachers  of  the  Church." — Light- 
cover  of  St.    Paul's  name,  would  have  foot  on  Galatiaiis,  p.  98. 
avoided  any  expression  of  deference  to 


126 


Neiu  Testament  and  Its  Writers. 


XII. 


Book  of  Acts  and  some  of  the  other  epistles  ascribed  to 
Paul,  shows  a  substantial  harmony,  along  with  an  occa- 
sional diversity  that  betokens  independence  —  the  epistle 
furnishing  details  of  many  incidents  in  Paul's  life  that 
are  only  mentioned  in  a  general  way  by  the  author  of 
the  Book  of  Acts.^  (4)  There  is  in  several  respects  a 
strong  resemblance  between  this  epistle  and  those  to  the 
Corthinthians  and  the  Romans  (p.  136). 

With  regard  to  external  evidence  there  are  the  usual 
echoes  and  reflections  in  the  Apostolic  Fathers  and  in 
the  apologists  and  other  theological  writers  of  the  first 
two  centuries;-  while  many  direct  quotations  are  to  be 
found  in  the  writings  of  the  Fathers  about  the  end  of  the 
second  century.^  The  epistle  is  also  included  in  the 
Muratorian  Canon  and  Versions  of  the  second  century. 


1  (i)  Cf.  i.  15-18  and  Acts  ix.  19-26— 
referring  to  Paul's  occupation  after  his 
conversion,  before  he  went  up  to  Jeru- 
salem. Besides  other  points  of  differ- 
ence, the  epistle  mentions  a  visit  to 
Arabia,  of  which  there  is  no  hint  in  Acts. 
In  this  connection,  Paley  justly  observes, 
"  If  the  narrative  in  the  Acts  had  been 
made  up  from  the  epistle,  it  is  impossible 
that  this  journey  should  have  been  passed 
over  in  silence  ;  if  the  epistle  had  been 
composed  out  of  what  the  author  had 
read  of  St.  Paul's  history  in  the  Acts,  it 
is  unaccountable  that  it  should  have  been 
inserted." 

(2)  Cf.  i.  18,  19  and  Acts  ix.  26-30, 
xxii.  18, — with  reference  to  Paul's  brief 
visit  to  Jerusalem  some  three  years  after 
his  conversion. 

(3)  Cf.  ii.  i-ioand  Actsxv.  1-21, — with 
reference  to  Paul's  visit  to  Jerusalem  in 
connection  with  the  apostolic  council, 
the  two  narratives  varying  so  much,  that 
many  have  fallen  into  the  mistake 
of  supposing  that  they  refer  to  two 
different  occasions. 

(4)  In  ii.  11-14  we  have  an  account 
of  a  collision  between  Peter  and  Paul,  of 
which  there  is  no  trace  in  Acts. 

(5)  In  iv.  13,  14,  there  is  mention  of 
' '  an  infirmity  of  the  flesh"  with  which  the 
apostle  was  afflicted,  but  to  which  there 
is  no  allusion  in  Acts,  although  it  is  re- 
ferred to  in  a  somewhat  different  but 
equally  natural  connection  in  2  Cor. 
.\ii.  7-9. 


(6)  In  vi.  I :  "  Brethren,  even  if  a  man 
be  overtaken  in  any  trespass,  ye  which 
are  spiritual,  restore  such  a  one  in  a  spirit 
of  meekness  ;  looking  to  thyself,  lest 
thou  also  be  tempted,"  Paley  finds  a 
singular  harmony  of  spirit  with  2  Cor. 
ii.  6-8,  where  the  apostle  deprecates  too 
great  severity  in  dealing  with  a  certain 
notorious  offender. 

(7)  In  vi.  11:  "  See  with  how  large  let- 
ters I  have  written  unto  you  with  mine 
own  hand,"  he  finds  a  mark  of  independ- 
ence betokening  genuineness,  when  com- 
pared with  Rom.  xvi.  22:  "I  Tertius, 
who  write  the  epistle,  salute  you  in  the 
Lord,"  and  the  similar  expression 
"the  salutation  of  me  Paul  with  mine 
own  hand,"  at  the  end  of  i  Corinthians, 
Colossians,  and  2  Thessalonians.  But 
the  force  of  this  argument  is  somewhat 
weakened  by  Philemon,  ver.  19:  "I 
Paul  write  it  with  mine  own  hand,  I  will 
repay  it " — which  is  not  noticed  by 
Paley. 

While  there  are  a  number  of  apparent 
discrepancies  between  this  epistle  and 
the  Book  of  Acts  w  hich  we  are  unable  to 
explain,  they  are  not  such  as  to  justify 
any  doubt  as  to  the  Pauline  authorship 
of  the  epistle. 

2  Clement  of  Rome,  Barnabas, 
Ignatius,  Polycarp,  Marcion,  Justin, 
Athenagoras,  Ophites  (quoted  by 
Hippolytus),  Tatian,  &c. 

^  Irena'us,  Clement  of  Alexandria, 
and  Tertullian. 


XII.  Galatians.  127 

2,   The  Readers. 

"Unto  the  churches  of  Galatia."^.  In  the  time  of  the 
apostle,  Galatia  might  either  be  understood  to  refer  to 
the  recently  created  Roman  province  of  that  name  in 
Asia  Minor,  or  be  used  in  the  older  and  more  popular 
sense,  to  designate  a  broad  strip  of  country  in  that 
province,  about  two  hundred  miles  long,  running  from 
south-west  to  north-east.  It  is  to  the  inhabitants  of 
Galatia  in  this  latter  sense  that  the  epistle  has  usually  been 
understood  to  be  addressed.  The  district  was  peopled  by 
a  mixed  race  of  Phrygians,  Greeks,  Celts,  Romans,  and 
Jews,  who  had  successively  obtained  a  footing  in  it  by 
different  means  and  with  varying  degrees  of  success.  Of 
these  elements  of  the  population  it  was  the  Celtic  invaders 
from  Western  Europe  that  had  made  their  influence  most 
strongly  felt.  They  found  their  way  into  the  country  in 
the  third  century  B.C. ;  and,  after  them  and  the  Greek 
immigrants  who  were  there  before  them,  the  country  was 
called  Gallo-Graicia.  So  deep  and  lasting  was  their 
influence,  that  even  in  the  end  of  the  fourth  century  A.D. 
Jerome  was  able  to  trace  a  strong  resemblance  between 
the  language  of  Galatia  and  that  spoken  on  the  banks  of 
the  Moselle  and  the  Rhine  ;  and  modern  travellers  have 
been  struck  with  the  fair  hair  and  blue  eyes  that  mark  an 
affinity  between  the  pastoral  tribes  of  Galatia  and  the 
peasantry  of  Western  France. 

Confirmation  of  the  view  that  it  was  to  the  inhabitants 
of  Galatia  proper  that  this  epistle  was  addressed  has  been 
found  in  the  entlmsiasm,  as  well  as  \h.Q  fickleness  and  love  of 
novelty,  which  have  been  characteristic  of  the  Gauls  both 
in  Europe  and  Asia,  and  which  left  their  mark  on  the 
early  history  of  the  Galatian   Church.^     Traces  have  also 

1  i.  2.     This  is  the  only  epistle  of  St.  you  in  the  grace  of  Christ  unto  a  differ- 

Paul  that  is  not  addressed  to  a  single  ent  gospel."    iii.  1-3:  "  O  foolish  Gala- 

ckurch,    or    a    single    person  —  except  tians,    who    did    bewitch    you,    before 

Ephesians  which  is  to  be  regarded  as  a  whose  eyes  Jesus  Christ  was  openly  set 

circular-letter  (p.  181).  forth    crucified?    This    only   would    1 

-  i.    6  :    "I   marvel  that    ye   are   so  learn  from  you,  Received  ye  the  Spirit 

quickly  removing  from  hini  that  called  by  the  works  of  the  law,  or  by  the  hear- 


12; 


New  Testament  and  Its  Wi'iters. 


XII. 


been  discerned  of  the  superstition,  drunkenness,  avarice, 
vanity,  irascibility,  and  strife  that  sometimes  impair  the 
charm  of  the  Celtic  character.^ 

According  to  this  theory,  Paul's  preaching  of  the  Gospel 
in  Galatia  was  due  to  his  detention  in  that  country  on  his 
way  to  the  more  promising  field  of  proconsular  Asia, 
caused  by  an  attack  of  the  painful  and  humiliating  malady 
to  which  he  was  liable — probably  an  aggravated  form  of 
ophthalmia.^  This  visit  to  Galatia,  which  took  place  in  the 
course  of  his  second  missionary  journey,  about  51  A.D.,  is 
alluded  to  in  the  Book  of  Acts  in  the  most  general  terms  ;  ^ 
but  from  some  passages  in  this  epistle,  it  would  appear 
that  his  faithful  and  energetic  preaching  of  Christ  cruci- 
fied had  excited  great  enthusiasm  and  affection.*  A 
second  visit  to  Galatia  is  recorded   in   the  Book  of  Acts,^ 


ing  of  faith  ?  Are  ye  so  foolish  ?  having 
begun  in  the  Spirit,  are  ye  now  perfected 
in  the  flesh?"  iv.  13-16:  "  Ye  did  me  no 
wrong  :  but  ye  know  that  because  of  an 
infirmity  of  the  flesh  I  preached  the  gos- 
pel unto  you  the  first  time  (t6  Trporepov)  : 
and  that  which  was  a  temptation  to 
you  in  my  flesh  ye  despised  not,  nor 
rejected ;  but  ye  received  me  as  an 
angel  of  God,  even  as  Christ  Jesus. 
Where  then  is  that  gratulation  of  your- 
selves ?  for  I  bear  you  witness,  that,  if 
possible,  ye  would  have  plucked  out 
your  eyes  and  given  them  to  me.  So 
then  am  I  become  your  enemy,  because 
I  tell  you  the  truth  ?  "  v.  7  :  "  Ye  were 
running  well ;  who  did  hinder  you  that 
ye  should  not  obey  the  truth  ?  " 

1  v.  15  :  "  But  if  ye  bite  and  devour 
one  another,  take  heed  that  ye  be  not 
consumed  one  of  another."  19-21  : 
' '  Now  the  works  of  the  flesh  are  mani- 
fest, which  are  these,  fornication,  un- 
cleanness,  lasciviousness,  idolatry, 
sorcery,  enmities,  strife,  jealousies, 
wraths,  factions,  divisions,  heresies, 
envyings,  drunkenness,  revellings,  and 
such  like  :  of  the  which  I  forewarn  you, 
even  as  I  did  forewarn  you,  that  they 
which  practise  such  things  shall  not 
inherit  the  kingdom  of  God."  26 : 
"  Let  us  not  be  vainglorious,  provoking 
one  another,  envying  one  another." 
vi.  3-6  :  "  For  if  a  man  thinketh  himself 
to  be  something,  when  he  is  nothing,  he 
deceiveth   himself.     But   let   each  man 


prove  his  own  work,  and  then  shall  he 
have  his  glorying  in  regard  of  himself 
alone,  and  not  of  his  neighbour.  For 
each  man  shall  bear  his  own  burden. 
But  let  him  that  is  taught  in  the  word 
communicate  unto  him  that  teacheth  in 
all  good  things." 

2  iv.  13-16  (quoted  above).  Cf.  2  Cor. 
xii.  7-10:  "And  by  reason  of  the 
exceeding  greatness  of  the  revelations — 
wherefore,  that  I  should  not  be  exalted 
overmuch,  there  was  given  to  me  a  thorn 
in  the  flesh,  a  messenger  of  Satan  to 
buffet  me,  that  I  should  not  be  exalted 
overmuch.  Concerning  this  thing  I 
besought  the  Lord  thrice,  that  it  might 
depart  from  me.  And  he  hath  said 
unto  me,  My  grace  is  sufficient  for  thee  : 
for  my  power  is  made  perfect  in  weak- 
ness. Most  gladly  therefore  will  I 
rather  glory  in  my  weaknesses,  that  the 
strength  of  Christ  may  rest  upon  me. 
Wherefore  I  take  pleasure  in  weaknesses, 
in  injuries,  in  necessities,  in  persecutions, 
in  distresses,  for  Christ's  sake  :  for  when 
I  am  weak,  then  am  I  strong." 

3  Acts  xvi.  6 :  "  And  they  went 
through  the  region  of  Phrygia  and 
Galatia,  having  been  forbidden  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  to  speak  the  word  in  Asia." 

•*  See  page  127,  tiote  2. 

5  Acts  xviii.  23:  "And  having  spent 
some  time  there  (i.e.  at  Antioch),  he 
departed,  and  went  through  the  region 
of  Galatia  and  Phrygia  in  order,  stab- 
lishing  all  the  disciples." 


XII.  Galatians.  \  29 

during  the  apostle's  third  missionary  journey,  about  54 
A.D.,  when  he  "  went  through  the  region  of  Galatia  and 
Phrygia  in  order,  stablishing  all  the  disciples."  From 
this  language  we  may  infer  that  not  a  few  congregations 
had  been  formed  in  the  district ;  but  it  would  seem 
that  their  feelings  towards  the  apostle  and  his  Gospel 
had  in  the  meantime  undergone  a  change,  and  that  he 
had,  on  this  second  occasion,  to  speak  to  them  in  tones 
of  warning.^ 

While  the  great  majority  of  scholars  are  agreed  in  giving 
to  Galatia  the  narrower  interpretation  that  is  assumed  in 
the  foregoing  statement,  there  are  a  nurnber  of  critics^  who 
hold  that  the  name  is  to  be  taken  in  its  wider  meaning 
as  a  designation  for  the  Roman  province,  which  included 
several  other  districts  besides  that  of  the  Asiatic  Celts. 
Recently  a  careful  and  elaborate  argument  in  favour  of 
this  view  has  been  advanced  by  Professor  W.  M.  Ramsay,^ 
who  brings  to  the  discussion  of  the  question  a  rare  know- 
ledge of  the  archaeology  and  topography  of  Asia  Minor, 
He  maintains  that  the  Churches  to  which  the  epistle  was 
addressed  were  no  other  than  those  of  Antioch,  Iconium, 
Lystra,  and  Derbe,  which  were  planted  by  Paul  in  his  first 
missionary  journey,  and  of  which  we  have  an  account  in 
Acts  xiii.,  xiv.,  as  well  as  in  the  meagre  notices  above 
referred  to,  in  chaps,  xvi.  and  xviii.  The  reasons  alleged 
for  this  conclusion  are  summarised  below ;  and  it  must 
be  admitced  that  they  possess  much  force  and  consist- 
ency.* 

The  only  other  intercourse  between  Paul  and  the 
Galatian  Churches  of  which  we  have  any  record  in  the  New 
Testament  is  that  mentioned  in  the  first  epistle  to  the 
Corinthians,^  concerning  the  collection  for  the  poor  of  the 

1  i.  9  :   "As  we  have  said  before,  so  ^  The  Church  in  the  Roman  Empire, 

say  I  now  again,  If  any  man  preacheth  chaps  i. — viii. 

unto   you   any  gospel   other   than  that  •*  See  Note  A  at  end  of  this  chapter, 

which   ye  received,    let    him    be   ana-  ^  i  Cor.  xvi.  i-6:  "Now  concerning 

thema."     iv.  13-16  (quoted  p.  128).     v.  the  collection  for  the  saints,  as  I  gave 

21  (quoted  p.  128).  order  to  the  churches  of  Galatia,  so  also 

^  Renan,  Perrot,  Sabatier,  Hausrath,  do  ye,"  &c. 
Weizsiicker,  Pfleiderer,  &c. 


1 30  New  Testament  and  Its  Writers.  xii. 

Church  at  Jerusalem.  This  communication  may  have 
taken  place  during  the  apostle's  last  visit  to  these 
Churches,  or  in  the  course  of  his  subsequent  stay  at 
Ephesus,  when  the  news  may  have  reached  him  of  his 
converts'  lapse  from  the  truth. 

Their  falling  away  had  evidently  been  connected  with  an 
attempt  on  the  part  of  Judaising  teachers  to  persuade  to 
an  observance  of  the  ceremonial  law  of  Moses,  taking 
advantage,  according  to  the  North  Galatian  theory,  of  the 
ritualistic  tendencies  which,  as  Cajsar  tells  us,  were 
characteristic  of  the  Gauls,  and  which  had  been  fostered 
by  the  worship  of  the  Phrygian  Cybele,  with  its  "  wild 
ceremonial  and  hideous  mutilations."  ^ 

Although  the  Galatian  Christians  were  mainly  converts 
from  heathenism,'^  some  of  them  had  doubtless  been  con- 
nected with  the  Jewish  synagogues,  either  as  members  or 
as  proselytes.  Josephus  tells  us  that  two  thousand  Jewish 
families  had  been  settled  in  Lydia  and  Phrygia  by 
Antiochus  the  Great.  Numerous  Jews  had  also  been 
attracted  to  the  cities  of  Galatia  proper  by  the  commercial 


1  iii.  1-3  (quoted  p.   127,  note  2).     iv.  ments  of  the  Judaisers,  who  maintained 

ID,    II,    21:     "Ye   observe   days,    and  that  the  Gentiles  must  be  circumcised 

months,  and  seasons,  and  years.     I  am  and  obey  the  law,  there  was  much  that 

afraid  of  you,  lest  by  any  means  I  have  was  most   plausible.     The   law  was   a 

bestowed  labour  upon  you  in  vain.  .  .  .  divine   institution,    and   could    not    be 

Tell  me,  ye  that  desire  to  be  under  the  neglected  ;     the    promises   were    given 

law,  do  ye  not  hear  the  law?"     v.  2-4,  solely  to  the  Jews,  to  Abraham  and  to 

7,  12  :  "  Behold,  I  Paul  say  unto  you,  his  seed  ;  the  Messiah  was  the  Messiah 

that,  if  ye  receive  circumcision,  Christ  of  the  Jews,  and  those  who  desired  to 

will  profit  you  nothing.     Yea,  I  testify  enter  His  kingdom  must  become  Jews  ; 

again  to  every  man  that  receiveth  cir-  Jesus  was  Himself  circumcised  and  kept 

cumcision,  that  he  is  a  debtor  to  do  the  the    whole   law;    the   original   apostles 

whole  law. ...  Ye  aresevered  from  Christ,  did  the  same  ;  and  if  the  Gentile  converts 

ye  who  would  be  justified  by  the  law  ;  were  not  to  be  required  to  keep  the  law, 

ye  are  fallen  away  from  grace. ..  .Ye  were  how  could  they  be  emancipated  from 

running  well  ;  who  did  hinder  you  that  the   immoralities   in   which    they   were 

ye  should  not  obey  the  truth?.  ..  I  would  enslaved?       These      arguments      told 

that  they  which  unsettle  you  would  even  everywhere,  and  had  they  entirely  pre- 

cut  themselves  off."     vi.   12,   13:    "As  vailed,  Christianity  must  have  dwindled 

many  as  desire  to  make  a  fair  show  in  into  a  short-lived  Jewish  sect." — Dods 

the  flesh,  they  compel  you  to  be  circum-  Introduction  to  Nevj  Testament. 
cised  ;  only  that  they  may  not  be  per-  -\\.  8:   "  Howbeit  at  that  time,  not 

secuted  for  the  cross  of  Christ.    For  not  knowing  God,    ye  were  in  bondage  to 

even  they  who  receive  circumcision  do  them   which   by  nature  are  no  gods." 

themselves  keep  the  law  ;  but  they  desire  v.    2   (quoted   above),     vi.    12   (quoted 

to  have  you  circumcised,  that  they  may  above), 
glory   in  your  flesh."      "  In   the   argu- 


xir. 


Galatians. 


131 


advantages  which  these  afforded ;  and,  according  to  Josephus, 
a  monumental  record  of  their  privileges  existed  in  the 
temple  of  Augustus  at  Ancyra,  the  ancient  capital  of  the 
district.^  The  existence  of  this  Jewish  element  in  the 
Church  explains  the  frequent  allusions  to  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, and  the  influence  gained  over  the  impressible 
Galatians  by  the  Judaising  Christians  of  Jerusalem,  who 
were  "  zealous  of  the  law  "  and  desired  to  make  the  Gospel 
tributary  to  the  synagogue  and  the  temple."^  They  had 
taken  advantage  of  Paul's  absence  to  undermine  his  char- 
acter as  an  apostle,^  and  had  endeavoured  only  too 
successfully  to  cause  a  reaction,  in-  the  minds  of  the 
Galatians,  from  the  simplicity  and  spirituality  of  the 
Gospel.  It  was  an  attempt  to  recover  the  ground  which 
they  had  lost  at  Antioch  and  elsewhere.** 


1  Antt.  xvi.  6.  But  the  genuineness 
of  the  passage  is  disputed.  The  two 
other  chief  cities  were  Tavium  and 
Pessinus,  each  of  the  three  having  been 
tlie  capital  of  a  tribe. 

-  i.  7  :  "  .  .  .  only  there  are  some 
that  trouble  you,  and  would  pervert  the 
gospel  of  Christ."     Cf.  p.  130,  note  i. 

*  ' '  Who  is  this  newcomer  that  he 
should  set  himself  up  against  the  first 
apostles  and  against  the  word  of  God 
itself?  What  is  his  authority ?  He  has 
not  seen  Christ ;  he  has  not  been  made 
an  apostle.  What  little  he  knows  of  the 
Gospel  has  been  learned  from  the  Lord's 
real  disciples  ;  and  now  he  revolts 
against  them  !  Why  does  he  separate 
himself  from  them?  Why  does  he  not 
reproduce  their  preaching  in  its  full  and 
proper  form?  His  mission  is  purely 
extemporised  ;  and  he  has  constituted 
himself  an  apostle  on  his  own  authority 
and  out  of  his  mere  fancy.  He  claims 
no  doubt  to  have  received  revelations, 
and  to  have  had  visions  vouchsafed  to 
him  ;  but  what  proof  have  we  that  his 
assertions  are  true  ?  Must  we  believe  it 
on  the  strength  of  his  word  ?  Besides, 
how  can  these  mere  personal  revelations 
that  he  alleges  hold  good  against  the 
traditional  teaching  of  men  who  lived 
so  long  with  Jesus,  who  saw  His  face 
and  heard  His  words  ?  " — Sabatier,  The 
Apostle  Paul  (Kng.  Translation),  p.  139. 

•*  ii.  4,  5  :  "  And  that  because  of  the 
false  brethren  privily   brought  in,  who 


came  in  privily  to  spy  out  our  liberty 
which  we  have  in  Christ  Jesus,  that  they 
might  bring  us  into  bondage  :  to  whom 
we  gave  place  in  the  way  of  subjection, 
no,  not  for  an  hour  ;  that  the  truth  of 
the  gospel  might  continue  with  you." 
ii.  11-14  (quoted  next  page,  note  4).  Acts 
XV.  i:  "And  certain  men  came  down 
from  Judoea  and  taught  the  brethren, 
saying.  Except  ye  be  circumcised  after 
the  custom  of  Moses,  ye  cannot  be 
saved."  23-29  :  "  And  they  wrote  thus 
by  them,  The  apostles  and  the  elder 
brethren  unto  the  brethren  which  are 
of  the  Gentiles  in  Antioch  and  Syria  and 
Cilicia,  greeting :  Forasmuch  as  we 
have  heard  that  certain  which  went 
out  from  us  have  troubled  you  with 
words,  subverting  your  souls  ;  to  whom 
we  gave  no  commandment ;  it  seemed 
good  unto  us,  having  come  to  one 
accord,  to  choose  out  men  and  send 
them  unto  you  with  our  beloved  Barnabas 
and  Paul,  men  that  have  hazarded  their 
lives  for  the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  We  have  sent  therefore  Judas 
and  Silas,  who  themselves  also  shall  tell 
you  the  same  things  by  word  of  mouth. 
For  it  seemed  good  to  the  Holy  Ghost, 
and  to  us,  to  lay  upon  you  no  greater 
burden  than  these  necessary  things ; 
that  ye  abstain  from  things  sacrificed  to 
idols,  and  from  blood,  and  from  things 
strangled,  and  from  fornication  ;  from 
which  if  ye  keep  yourselves,  it  shall  be 
well  with  you.     Fare  ye  well." 


132  New  Testament  and  Its  Wj^iters.  xii. 

3.  Date  and  Place  of  Composition. 

From  what  has  been  already  said  as  to  the  allusions  in 
this  epistle  to  the  apostle's  second  visit  to  Galatia,  we  may- 
infer  that  its  composition  was  subsequent  to  54  A.D.,  if  we 
take  Galatia  in  the  narrower  sense,  or  to  51  A.D.,  if  we 
understand  it  to  mean  the  Roman  province  of  that  name, 
which  included  the  cities  of  Asia  Minor  visited  by  Paul  in 
his  first  missionary  journey.  The  expression  "  so  soon  "  or 
rather  "so  quickly "^  (R.V.),  has  been  thought  to  imply 
that  the  epistle  must  have  been  written  very  shortly  after 
the  second  visit.  But  if  there  is  any  reference  here  to  a 
previous  event,  it  was  probably  their  calling,  or  conversion, 
that  the  apostle  had  in  view  ;  and  the  language  would  be 
equally  appropriate  whether  an  interval  of  five  or  of  ten 
years  had  elapsed.  The  expression,  however,  may  be 
taken  simply  to  refer  to  the  rapidity  with  which  they 
succumbed  to  the  influence  of  the  false  teachers. 

Another  note  of  time  has  been  found  in  the  apostle's 
allusions  to  his  two  visits  to  Jerusalem.^  But  we  are  not 
justified  in  assuming  that  these  were  the  only  visits  he  had 
paid  to  the  capital  since  he  became  a  Christian.  For  his 
object  is  not  to  give  a  complete  narrative  of  events,  but  to 
meet  objections  and  correct  misrepresentations  ;  and  he  only 
refers  to  matters  of  fact  in  so  far  as  they  have  a  bearing 
on  the  question  of  his  apostleship.  If  we  identify  the 
second  visit  referred  to  with  the  third  one  recorded  in 
the  Book  of  Acts,^  in  connection  with  the  Council  of 
Jerusalem,  and  suppose  the  difference  with  Peter  at 
Antioch  *  to  have  taken  place  soon  afterwards,  the  epistle 

1  i.  6 — oCtojs  raxft^s.  because    he    stood    condemned.      For 

2  i.  18:  "Then  after  three  years  I  before  that  certain  came  from  James, 
went  up  to  Jerusalem  to  visit  Cephas,  he  did  eat  with  the  Gentiles  :  but  when 
and  tarried  with  him  fifteen  days."  they  came,  he  drew  back  and  separated 
ii.  i:  "  Then  after  the  space  of  fourteen  himself,  fearing  them  that  were  of  the 
years  I  went  up  again  to  Jerusalem  circumcision.  And  the  rest  of  the  Jews 
with  Barnabas,  taking  Titus  also  with  dissembled  likewise  with  him  ;  inso- 
jYie."  much  that  even   Barnabas  was  carried 

3  Acts  XV.  away    with    their    dissimulation.     But 
■*  ii.  ii-2i:   "  But  when  Cephas  came       when  I  saw  that  they  walked  not  up- 

to  Antioch,  I  resisted  him  to  the  face,       rightly  according   to  the  truth   of  the 


xir. 


Galatians. 


133 


could  not  have  been  written  before  51  A.D.  This  or  a 
little  later  is  the  date  which  some  would  assign  to  it.  But 
in  all  probability  a  considerable  interval  must  have  elapsed 
between  the  meeting  of  the  Council  at  Jerusalem  (whose 
peaceable  decrees  were  taken  to  Antioch  by  the  hands  of 
Barsabbas  and  Silas,  accompanying  Paul  and  Barnabas), 
and  the  arrival  at  Antioch  of  Peter,  and  subsequently,  of 
certain  men  who  "came  from  James,"  and  induced  Peter 
to  withdraw  from  the  fellowship  of  the  Gentile  Christians. 
This  incident,  which  seems  to  have  provoked  the  violent 
resentment  of  the  Judaisers/  probably  occurred  during 
Paul's  visit  to  Antioch  about  54  A.D.,  mentioned  in  a  later 
chapter,-  and  if  so,  the  epistle  may  have  been  written  in  the 
course  of  the  apostle's  third  missionary  journey,  on  which  he 
entered  soon  afterwards.  The  general  opinion  has  been  that 
it  was  thus  sent  from  Ephesus  during  the  apostle's  long  resi- 
dence in  that  city.     But  there  seems  to  be  good  reason  to 


gospel,  I  said  unto  Cephas  before  them 
all,  If  thou,  being  a  Jew,  livest  as  do 
the  Gentiles,  and  not  as  do  the  Jews, 
how  compellest  thou  the  Gentiles  to 
live  as  do  the  Jews  ?  .  .  ." 

1  "The  discussion  which  took  place 
at  Antioch  seems  to  have  been  a 
regular  declaration  of  war.  From  this 
hour  the  struggle  became  general,  and 
was  carried  out  on  both  sides  without 
truce  or  restraint.  The  Judaising  oppo- 
sition, originating  in  Palestine,  extends 
and  breaks  out  everywhere  ;  we  find  it 
disturbing  Galatia,  Ephesus,  and  the 
Church  at  Corinth  by  turns  ;  and,  out- 
running the  apostle  of  the  Gentiles  him- 
self, it  gets  to  Rome  before  him.  The 
Judaising  party  had  its  missionaries  who 
followed  in  Paul's  track,  and  in  every 
place  strove  with  embittered  zeal  to 
undermine  his  authority,  to  seduce  his 
disciples,  and  to  destroy  his  work  under 
the  pretence  of  rectifying  it.  It  was  a 
countermission  systematically  organised. 
The  delegates  arrived  with  letters  of 
recommendation,  and  gave  themselves 
out  as  representatives  of  the  Twelve, 
denying  Paul's  apostleship,  and  sowing 
distrust  and  suspicion  of  him  everywhere 
by  their  odious  calumnies." — Sabatier, 

2  Acts  xviii.  22,  23:  ''And  when  he 
had  landed  at  Cassarea,  he  went  up 
and    saluted    the    church,    and    went 


down  to  Antioch.  And  having  spent 
some  time  there,  he  departed."  "  En 
tout  cas  aprfes  la  conference  de 
Jerusalem.  Selon  plusieurs,  imm^diate- 
ment  apres,  et  avant  la  depart  de  Paul 
pour  sa  seconde  mission.  Cette  opinion 
me  parait  peu  vraisemblable.  L'^glise 
de  Jerusalem  avait  formellement  d616- 
gufe  deux  de  ses  membres,  Silas  et 
Barsabas  (Act  xv.  22),  pour  porter,  avec 
Paul  et  Barnabas,  sa  r^ponse  officielle  a 
I'^glise  dAntioche.  Pourquoi  Pierre 
s'y  serait-il  rendu  dans  ce  moment- 
la?  Puis,  qu'  auraient  eu  k  faire  li  des 
envoyes  de  Jacques  (ii.  11)?  Jacques 
aurait-il  d61(5gu6  une  deputation  en  son 
propre  nom  k  c6t6  de  celle  de  I'^glise  ? 
Enfin  il  n'est  guere  vraisemblable  qu' 
apres  le  conttit  que  va  racontre  I'apotre, 
celui-ci  eut  propose  imm^diatement  a 
Barnabas  de  recommencer  ensemble 
une  nouvelle  mission  (Act  xv.  36).  Je 
pense  done  qu'il  vaut  mieux  placer  cette 
visitede  Pierre  k  Antioche  et  son  conflit 
avec  Paul  apres  le  second  voyage  de 
mission,  durant  le  s^jour  mentionn6 
brifevement  par  Luc,  Act  xviii.  23,  en 
ces  mots  :  "  et  y  ayant  passiS  un  certain 
temps."  Le  souvenir  des  conferences 
de  Jerusalem  6tait  d^ja  un  peu  effacd  ; 
a  cette  distance,  le  conflit  se  comprend 
plus  ais^ment."  —  Godet,  Introduction 
au  Noiiveau  Testament,  i.  p.  237. 


134 


New  Testament  and  Its  Writers. 


XTT. 


assign  to  it  a  still  later  date,  somewhere  between  2  Corin- 
thians and  Romans,  as  we  are  now  doing.  For  when  we 
compare  it  with  the  epistles  just  mentioned,  we  find  a 
strong  resemblance  to  both  of  these — to  the  former  in 
the  writer's  tone  of  feeling  regarding  his  apostleship  and 
the  attacks  made  upon  him  ;  to  the  latter,  in  language, 
reasoning,  and  general  cast  of  doctrine.^  It  was  manifestly 
written  previous  to  Romans,  being  to  it  as  "  the  rough  model 
to  the  finished  statue  "  ;  and  it  appears  also  to  have  been 


1  The  following  are  among  the  most 
striking  coincidences  between  this 
epistle  and  that  to  the  Romans.  On  the 
whole  the  resemblance  is  greater  than  we 
find  between  any  other  of  Paul's  epistles, 
except  Colossians  and  Ephesians,  which 
were  certainly  contemporaneous.  For 
other  instances  see  Lightfoot,  pp.  45-49. 

iii.  6:  "  Even  as  Abraham  believed 
God,  and  it  was  reckoned  unto  him  for 
righteousness,"  cf.  Rom.  iv.  3:  "For 
what  saith  the  scripture  ?  And  Abraham 
believed  God,  and  it  was  reckoned  unto 
him  for  righteousness."  iii.  11  :  "Now 
that  no  man  is  justified  by  the  law  in  the 
sight  of  God,  is  evident :  for,  The  right- 
eous shall  live  by  faith,"  cf.  Rom.  i. 
17:  "For  therein  is  revealed  a  right- 
eousness of  God  h>y  faith  unto  faith  :  as 
it  is  written,  But  the  righteous  shall 
live  by  faith."  iii.  12:  "And  the  law- 
is  not  of  faith  ;  but,  He  that  doeth  them 
shall  live  in  them,"  cf.  Rom.  x.  5 : 
"  For  Moses  writeth  that  the  man  that 
doeth  the  righteousness  which  is  of  the 
law  shall  live  thereby."  iii.  22  :  "  How- 
beit  the  scripture  hath  shut  up  all  things 
under  sin,  that  the  promise  by  faith  in 
Jesus  Christ  might  be  given  to  them 
that  believe,"  cf.  Rom.  xi.  32:  "For 
God  hath  shut  up  all  unto  disobedience, 
that  he  might  have  mercy  upon  all." 
iii.  27  :  "  For  as  many  of  you  as  were 
baptized  into  Christ  did  put  on  Christ," 
cf.  Rom.  vi.  3:  "Or  are  ye  ignorant 
that  all  we  who  were  baptized  into 
Christ  Jesus  were  baptized  into  his 
death?"  and  Rom.  xiii.  14:  "  But  put  ye 
on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  make  not 
provision  for  the  flesh,  to  fulfil  the  lusts 
thereof"  iv.  5,  6:  "That  he  might 
redeem  them  which  were  under  the  law, 
that  we  might  receive  the  adoption  of 
sons.  And  because  ye  are  sons,  God 
sent  forth  the  Spirit  of  his  Son  into  our 
hearts,  crying,  Abba,  Father,"  cf. 
Rom.  viii.  14,   15:    .    .    .    "ye  received 


the  spirit  of  adoption,  whereby  we  cry, 
Abba,  Father."  ii.  16:  "Yet  know- 
ing that  a  man  is  not  justified  by  the 
works  of  the  law,  save  through  faith  in 
Jesus  Christ,  even  we  believed  on  Christ 
Jesus,  that  we  might  be  justified  by 
faith  in  Christ,  and  not  by  the  works  ot 
the  law  :  because  by  the  works  of  the 
law  shall  no  flesh  be  justified,"  cf. 
Rom.  iii.  20:  "  Because  by  the  works 
of  the  law  shall  no  flesh  be  justified  in 
his  sight :  for  through  the  law  cometh 
the  knowledge  of  sin."  (In  both  cases 
there  is  a  similar  modification  and 
application  of  Psalm  cxliii.  2  :  "In  thy 
sight  shall  no  man  living  be  justified.") 
ii.  20:  "I  have  been  crucified  with 
Christ ;  yet  I  live  ;  and  yet  no  longer  I, 
but  Christ  liveth  in  me  :  and  that  life 
which  I  now  live  in  the  flesh  I  live  in 
faith,  the  faith  which  is  in  the  Son  of 
God,  who  loved  me,  and  gave  himself 
up  for  me."  r/".  Rom.  vi.  6,  8  :  "Know- 
ing this,  that  our  old  man  was  crucified 
with  him,  that  the  body  of  sin  might  be 
done  away,  that  so  we  should  no  longer 
be  in  bondage  to  sin  ;  .  . .  But  if  we  died 
with  Christ,  we  believe  that  we  shall  also 
live  with  him."  v.  14  :  "  For  the  whole 
law  is  fulfilled  in  one  word,  even  in 
this  ;  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbour  as 
thyself,"  cf.  Rom.  xiii.  8-10:  "For 
he  that  loveth  his  neighbour  hath  ful- 
filled the  law,"  &c.  v.  16  :  "  But  I  say, 
Walk  by  the  Spirit,  and  ye  shall  not  ful- 
fil the  lust  of  the  flesh,"  cf.  Rom.  viii. 
4  :  "  That  the  ordinance  of  the  law  might 
be  fulfilled  in  us,  who  walk  not  after  the 
flesh,  but  after  the  spirit."  v.  17  :  "  For 
the  flesh  lusteth  against  the  Spirit,  and 
the  Spirit  against  the  flesh  ;  for  these  are 
contrary  the  one  to  the  other  ;  that  ye 
may  not  do  the  things  that  ye  would," 
cf.  Rom.  vii.  23,  25  :  "...  So  then  I  my- 
self with  the  mind  serve  the  law  of  God  ; 
but  with  the  flesh  the  law  of  sin." 


XII.  Galatians.  135 

written  when  the  tension  of  the  apostle's  feelings  was  less 
severe  than  when  he  wrote  2  Corinthians.  With  great  pro- 
bability, therefore,  we  may  place  its  composition  in  the 
period  of  transition  between  these  two  epistles,  towards  the 
close  of  the  year  57  A.D.  It  may  have  been  written  in  the 
apostle's  journey  from  Macedonia  to  Greece,^  for  the  ex- 
pression "  all  the  brethren  which  are  with  me,"  ^  in  the 
opening  salutation,  would  be  more  likely  to  be  used  by  the 
apostle  while  he  was  the  centre  of  a  travelling  party,  than 
if  he  had  been  residing  at  the  seat  of  a  congregation.^ 

4.   Character  and  Conteiits. 

From  first  to  last  the  epistle  is  marked  by  a  conspicuous 
unity  of  purpose — its  main  object  being  to  counteract  the 
Jiidaising process  that  had  been  going  on  for  some  time  in 
the  Galatian  Church.  An  important  factor  in  that  process 
had  been  the  denial  of  Paul's  apostolic  authority  on  the 
ground  that  he  had  never  seen  the  Lord,  and  that  he  owed 
his  knowledge  of  the  Gospel  to  the  apostles  who  had  their 
headquarters  at  Jerusalem.  On  the  question  of  circum- 
cision and  the  observance  of  the  law  it  was  alleged  that  he 
was  particularly  to  be  distrusted,  as  a  renegade  from  the 
religion  of  his  fathers. 

Without  a  word  of  his  usual  praise  and  thanksgiving, 
the  apostle  begins  with  a  bold  assertion  of  his  apostolic  office 
as  directly  conferred  upon  him  by  the  Lord.'^  This  is 
followed  by  an  account  of  his  intercourse  and  relations  with 
the  other  apostles  after  his  conversion,  showing  that  he 
owed  his  conception  of  the  Gospel  not  to  them,  but  to 
influence  exerted  on  him  from  above.^     His  ministry  had 

1  Acts  XX.  I,  2.  general  character  of  the  epistle,  such  as 

2  i.  2.  that  indicated  above,  is  our  safest  guide. 

3  The  subject  is  not  one  for  dogma-  ^\.  \:  "Paul,  an  apostle  (not  from 
tising,  for  there  is  great  truth  in  Pro-  men,  neither  through  man,  but  through 
fessor  Warfield's  remark:  "The  plain  Jesus  Christ,  and  God  the  Father,  who 
fact  is  that  this  epistle  is  unique  among  raised  him  from  the  dead)." 

Paul's  letters  in  its  entire  lack  of  any  ^  e\g.  in   the   solitudes   of  Arabia,  i. 

allusion  capable  of  easy  interpretation,  17:   "Neither  went  I  up  to  Jerusalem 

to  the  apostle's  circumstances  and  sur-  to  them  which  were  apostles  before  me  : 

roundings  at  the  time  when  he  wrote  it."  but    I    went   away    into    Arabia;    and 

But  in  such  a  case  an  argumcnt.from  the  again  I  returned  unto  Damascus." 


1 36  New  Testament  and  Its  J^Vr/ters.  xii. 

been  acknowledged  by  the  reputed  pillars  of  the  Church 
(James  and  Cephas  and  John)  as  having  the  same  divine 
sanction  for  the  Gentiles,  as  their  preaching  had  for  the 
Jews.  Since  that  time  he  had  persistently  maintained  the 
freedom  of  his  converts  from  the  bondage  of  the  Law, 
and  had  even  gone  so  far  on  one  occasion  as  to  rebuke  Peter 
for  his  dissimulation,  when  he  would  have  withdrawn  from 
fellowship  with  the  Gentile  Christians  at  Antioch.^ 

Having  thus  disposed  of  the  personal  aspect  of  the 
question,  he  passes  to  its  more  doctrinal  aspect  by  appealing 
to  the  spiritual  blessing  which  the  Galatians  had  experi- 
enced under  his  ministry  when  he  preached  the  Gospel  to 
them  without  any  mixture  of  Jewish  ritual.  He  proves 
that  the  Law  has  been  superseded  by  the  Gospel,  the  latter 
being  the  full  assertion  of  that  principle  of  faith  that  had 
always  lain  at  the  foundation  of  men's  acceptance  with 
God,  even  in  the  time  of  Abraham.  He  shows  that  the 
Law  given  by  Moses  could  only  create  a  sense  of  sin  with- 
out providing  a  remedy.  It  was  but  a  temporary  means 
of  training  God's  people  for  the  enjoyment  of  their  privi- 
leges as  His  children — standing  in  the  same  relation  to  the 
Gospel,  as  the  children  of  Hagar  the  bondwoman  did  to 
Isaac  the  child  of  promise.- 

In  chapters  v. — vi.  the  apostle  warns  them  against  the 
abuse  of  their  spiritual  freedom,  setting  before  them  the 
true  principles  of  Christian  morality,  and  exhorting  them  to 
several  duties  of  which  they  had  need  to  be  reminded. 
He  concludes  with  a  postscript  in  his  own  handwriting,^ 
in  which  he  sums  up  the  argument  with  an  emphasis  and 
decision  that  contrast  strongly  with  the  hesitation  apparent 

1  i.  18 — ii.  circumcised,  that  they  may  glory  in  your 

-iii. — iv.  flesh.      But  far  be  it  from  me  to  glory, 

^vi.    11-18 :    "See  with   how   large  save   in   the   cross   of  our   Lord  Jesus 

letters    I   have   written   unto  you  with  Christ,  through  which  the  world  hath 

mine  own  hand.     As  many  as  desire  to  been  crucified  unto  me,  and  I  unto  the 

make  a  fair  show  in  the  flesh,  they  com-  world.     For  neither  is  circumcision  any- 

pel   you   to  be  circumcised  ;   only  that  thing,  nor   uncircumcision,   but  a   new 

they  may  not  be  persecuted  for  the  cross  creature.     And  as  many  as  shall  walk 

of  Christ.      For  not  even  they  who  re-  by  this  rule,  peace  be  upon  them,  and 

ceive  circumcision  do  themselves  keep  mercy,  and  upon  the  Israel  of  God,"  &c. 
the  law ;  but  they  desire  to  have  you 


XII.  Galatians.  137 

in  some  of  the  earlier  passages,  where  he  is  trying  to  vin- 
dicate his  conduct  without  casting  any  unnecessary  re- 
flections on  the  other  apostles.  He  exposes  the  unworthy 
motives  of  his  opponents,  reaffirms  the  supreme  importance 
of  the  Cross  of  Christ  and  of  regeneration  in  Him  ^  as 
essential  to  the  true  Israel  of  God,  declaring  circumcision 
or  uncircumcision  to  be  a  matter  of  indifference,^  and 
appeals  to  the  marks  which  he  bears  of  recent  persecution, 
as  the  seal  of  his  apostleship  and  the  token  of  his  renewed 
devotion  to  the  Saviour.  "  From  henceforth  let  no  man 
trouble  me,  for  I  bear  branded  on  my  body  the  marks  of 
Jesus. "^  Finally  he  invokes  the  divine  blessing  on  his 
converts  in  terms  specially  fitted  to  lift  them  above  the 
thought  of  carnal  ordinances — "  The  grace  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  be  with  your  spirit,  brethren."* 

The  whole  epistle  is  marked  by  a  force  and  vehemence 
that  strain  the  apostle's  power  of  expression  to  the  utmost. 
It  has  done  more  than  any  other  book  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment for  the  emancipation  of  Christians,  not  only  from  the 
yoke  of  Judaism,  but  from  every  other  form  of  externalism 
that  has  ever  threatened  the  freedom  and  spirituality  of 
the  Gospel.^  It  was  Luther's  favourite  epistle,  to  which  he 
was  "wedded,"  as  he  said;  and  from  it  he  largely  drew 
his  inspiration  in  his  conflict  with  the  Church  of  Rome. 

1  The  name  of  Christ   occurs  forty-  circumcision,  but   by  baptism  and  the 

three  times  in  this  short  epistle.  new  birth.     Of  circumcision  not  a  word 

-  "The  Jewish  teachers  put  it  in  the  is  said,  even  by  these  extreme  Judaists." 

forefront.     They  said  that  '  but  for  cir-  — Farrar,  Messages  of  the  Books,  p.  250. 

cumcision  heaven  and  earth  could  not  3  vi.  \j  [ra.  (rTiy/j.aTa).     With  this  we 

exist.'  ...   St.    Paul   did   his  work  so  may  connect  the  fact  that  in  his  very 

completely     that     thenceforth    in     the  next  epistle  (if  the  order  we  have  adopted 

Christian  Church  the  c|uestion  as  to  the  be    correct)     Paul    styles    himself    "a 

need  of  circumcision  for  Gentiles  was  bondservant  of  Jesus  Christ "  (Rom.  i.  1, 

at  an  end.     In  the  epistle  of  Barnabas  R.V.   margin),  being  the  first  time,  so 

circumcision  is  even  treated  with  con-  far  as  is  known,  that  he  ever  so  desig- 

tempt  ;  and  its  institution  attributed  to  nated  himself. 

the  deception  of  an  evil  angel.     In  the  ■^vi.  18.     This  form  of  benediction  is 

Ignatian  letter  to  Philadelphia  we  read  only  found  elsewhere  in  Philippians  (iv. 

of  'the  false  Jew  of  the  earthly  circum-  23,  R.V.)  and  in  Philemon  (ver.  25). 

cision.'     Even  in  the  Ebionite  Pseudo-  ^  The    words     "free,"     "freedom," 

Clementine  Homilies,  they  who  desire  "make    free"    {i\evdep6i,     iXevdepia, 

to   be   de-Hellenised    (d.<p€\\7]vicrdTjvai,  eXevdepouj),  occur  eleven   times    in    the 

'  to  be  un-Greeked ')  must  be  so  not  by  epistle. 


o 


8  New  Testament  and  Its  Writers.  xn. 


Note  A  (p.   129). 

Summary  of  Arguments  for  South  Galatian  theory.    Nos.  (3),  (4), 
and  (5),  are  those  on  which  Professor  Ramsay  lays  most  stress. 

(i)  The  cities  referred  to  (Antioch,  Iconium,  Lystra,  and  Derbe)  can 
be  proved  to  have  formed  part  of  the  Roman  province  of  Galatia  in 
the  time  of  the  apostle.  Tliey  were  important  centres  of  Roman 
civilization  ;  and  the  Roman  name  "  Galatians  "  was  the  only  accept- 
able title  by  which  they  could  be  addressed  in  common.  It  was  a 
mode  of  address  congenial  to  the  mind  of  the  apostle,  who  followed 
the  Roman  lines  of  communication  in  his  mission  work,  and  regarded 
the  Roman  empire  as  the  appointed  field  of  his  labours. 

(2)  If  it  was  not  to  these  Churches  that  this  epistle  was  addressed, 
they  are  left  without  any  share  in  the  apostle's  correspondence  (so  far 
as  it  has  been  preserved  to  us)  although  they  were  the  first-fruits  of  his 
labours  among  the  Gentiles,  had  been  repeatedly  visited  by  him,  and 
were  counted  worthy  of  a  prominent  place  in  the  history  of  the  Church 
by  the  writer  of  the  Book  of  Acts.  On  the  other  hand,  how  are  we  to 
explain  the  almost  entire  absence  of  information  in  that  book  regard- 
ing the  planting  of  the  Churches  in  North  Galatia  (if  they  were  the 
recipients  of  the  apostle's  letter) — considering  the  fulness  with  which 
the  apostle's  work  in  other  parts  of  Asia  Minor  during  the  same  period 
is  narrated  ? 

(3)  In  Acts  xvi.  6  and  xviii.  23 — the  only  two  passages  in  which 
Galatia  is  named  in  the  Book  of  Acts — a  close  examination  does  away 
with  the  impression  that  there  is  any  reference  to  North  Galatia.  (a) 
In  the  former  passage,  the  expression  "the  region  of  Phrygia  and 
Galatia"  {Ty]v  ^pvyiav  Kal  Ta\aTiK7]v  xwpar,  R.V.)  is  equivalent  to  the 
Phrygo-Galatic  country,  and  denotes  the  district  in  which  Antioch  and 
Iconium  were  situated,  both  of  these  cities  being  of  Phrygian  origin, 
and  their  inhabitants  priding  themselves  on  their  superiority  to  the 
neighbouring  tribes  (the  Pisidians  and  the  Lycaonians  respectively), 
who  were  still  comparatively  barbarous  and  little  imbued  with  the 
Gr£eco-Roman  civilization  of  which  Antioch  and  Iconium  were  becom- 
ing centres.  Moreover,  the  statement  "  when  they  were  come  over 
against  Mysia,  they  assayed  to  go  into  Bithynia"  does  not  harmonise, 
geographically,  with  the  supposition  that  their  route  had  lain  through 
North  Galatia  ;  and  even  if  it  were  in  that  sense  that  we  are  to  inter- 
pret ver.  6  "  they  went  through  the  region  of  Phrygia  and  Galatia  " 
{8t7j\dov),  we  should  still  be  without  any  record  of  Paul's  having 
■preached  there,  ib)  In  the  other  passage  (xviii.  23),  "  the  region  of 
Galatia  and  Phrygia"  {rr)v  TaXarLKr^v  x'^po-v  K'ai  ^pvyiav)  is  to  be  taken  in 


XII.  Galatians.  139 

a  similar  sense,  "  the  region  of  Galatia  "  being  in  this  case  put  before 
Phrygia,  because  the  first  two  cities  he  would  visit  on  the  route  (Lystra 
and  Derbe),  although  in  the  Roman  province  of  Galatia,  were  not  in 
Phrygo-Galatia,  as  Antioch  and  Iconium  were,  which  he  would  subse- 
quently visit.  In  any  case,  Paul  must  have  visited  these  cities  of 
South  Galatia  where  he  had  already  planted  churches,  for  it  is  said 
that  he  "went  through  the  region  of  Galatia  and  Phrygia  in 
order,  stablishitio  all  the  disciples "  {Kade^rjs  .  .  .  <TTT]pi^oiv  vavras  tovs 
ixad-qTM)  ;  and  this  does  not  fit  in  with  the  supposition  that  in  making 
for  the  province  of  Asia  (which  was  evidently  his  destination  in  this 
journey,  as  he  had  been  withheld  from  preaching  there  on  the  previous 
occasion)  he  had  taken  the  circuitous  course  through  Cappadocia  and 
North  Galatia  which  was  open  to  him.  Besides,  that  route  was  a  very 
unlikely  one  both  for  the  apostle  and  for  Jewish  emissaries  (such  as 
those  referred  to  in  Gal.  v.  7-10),  being  comparatively  unfrequented 
and  affording  few  opportunities  for  the  propagation  either  of  the  Jewish 
or  the  Christian  faith.  In  these  circumstances  the  language  of  xix.  i  : 
"  Paul  having  passed  through  the  upper  country  (ra  avuirepiKa.  m^p^)  came 
to  Ephesus,"  is  to  be  understood  as  referring  to  the  route  which  led  to 
Ephesus  by  way  of  Antioch,  across  the  great  central  plateau. 

Confirmation  of  this  interpretation  of  "the  Galatian  country"  and 
"  Phrygia"  is  found  in  the  fact  that  inscriptions  have  been  discovered 
in  which  Phrygia  (as  distinct  from  the  country  of  the  Celts)  is  men- 
tioned as  one  of  a  number  of  districts  in  the  Roman  province  ot 
Galatia  ;  and  also  in  the  analogy  afforded  by  the  name  of  Pontus 
Galaticus,  which  was  applied  to  a  portion  of  the  district  of  Pontus  that 
had  been  added  to  the  Roman  province  of  Galatia. 

(4)  It  is  generally  admitted  that  in  his  epistles  Paul  uses  geographi- 
cal names  in  their  Roman  sense  (so,  even  the  word  Galatia  in  i  Cor. 
xvi.  I  :  "  as  I  gave  order  to  the  churches  of  Galatia,  so  also  do  ye  ")  ; 
and  this  is  alleged  to  be  a  feature  of  those  parts  of  the  Book  of  Acts 
which  were  composed  under  the  immediate  influence  of  the  apostle, 
as  compared,  for  example,  with  earlier  portions  of  the  Book.  With  this 
Pauline  usage  agrees  also  that  of  Peter  in  the  beginning  of  his  First 
Epistle,  where,  summing  up  "  the  whole  of  Asia  Minor  north  of  the 
Taurus  range,"  he  says  :  "  Peter,  an  apostle  of  Jesus  Christ,  to  the 
elect  who  are  sojourners  of  the  Dispersion  in  Pontus,  Galatia,  Cappa- 
docia, Asia,  and  Bithynia." 

(5)  With  regard  to  the  apostle's  words  in  Gal.  iv.  13  :  "  Ye  did  me 
no  wrong  :  but  ye  know  that  because  of  an  infirmity  of  the  flesh  I 
preached  the  gospel  unto  you  the  first  time  :  "  it  is  held  to  be  incredi- 
ble that  the  apostle  could  have  thought  of  crossing  North  Galatia 
merely  for  the  purpose  of  preaching  in  Bithynia  or  Pontus,  or  that  he 
should  have  set  himself  to  its  evangelization — with  its  scattered  cities 
and  fatiguing  journeys — when  recovering  from  sickness.     The  true  ex- 


140  New  Testament  and  Its  Writers.  xii. 

planation  is  alleged  to  be  that  in  his  first  missionary  journey  Paul  was 
prostrated  with  a  malarious  fever  at  Perga,  where  he  not  improbably 
arrived  during  the  hot  season,  possibly  in  June.  Such  an  illness  is  a 
common  experience  of  travellers  at  the  present  day  ;  and  a  remedy  is 
frequently  sought  in  such  a  change  to  the  hills  as  that  which  Paul 
obtained  when  he  came  to  Antioch  (Acts  xiii.  13,  14).  Hitherto  his 
face  had  been  turned  westward  (Perga  being  on  the  way  to  Rome), 
and  it  was  owing  to  the  change  of  plan  involved  in  the  journey  to 
Antioch  that  John  Mark,  who  had  come  with  Paul  and  Barnabas  as 
far  as  Perga,  returned  to  Jerusalem. 

(6)  The  enthusiastic  reception  accorded  to  him  by  the  Galatians,  to 
which  the  apostle  refers  in  the  epistle  (iv.  14,  15  :  "And  that  which 
was  a  temptation  to  you  in  my  flesh  ye  despised  not,  nor  rejected  ;  but 
ye  received  me  as  an  angel  of  God,  even  as  Christ  Jesus.  Where 
then  is  that  gratulation  of  yourselves  ?  for  I  bear  you  witness,  that,  if 
possible,  ye  would  have  plucked  out  your  eyes  and  given  them  to  me." 
i.  8  :  ''  But  though  we,  or  an  angel  from  heaven,  should  preach  unto 
you  any  gospel")  corresponds  with  the  account  given  in  the  Book  of 
Acts  of  the  wonderful  impression  made  at  Antioch  and  elsewhere,  but 
especially  at  Lystra,  where  the  cry  was  raised  "  the  gods  are  come 
down  to  us  in  the  likeness  of  men."  The  language  of  vi.  17  :  "  From 
henceforth  let  no  man  trouble  me  :  for  I  bear  branded  on  my  body 
the  marks  of  Jesus,"  may  also  refer  to  the  effects  of  the  "  persecutions, 
sufferings  ;  what  things  befell  me  at  Antioch,  at  Iconium,  at  Lystra." 
2  Tim.  iii.  11. 

(7)  The  charge  of  inconsistency  on  the  part  of  the  apostle  which  is 
implied  in  Gal.  v.  1 1  :  "  But  I,  brethren,  if  I  still  preach  circumcision, 
why  am  I  still  persecuted  ? "  was  no  doubt  occasioned  by  his  conduct 
in  causing  Timothy  to  be  circumcised  at  Lystra,  and  would  be  very 
likely  to  be  brought  against  him  by  the  Jews  in  that  and  the  neighbour- 
ing cities. 

(8)  The  repeated  allusions  to  Barnabas  (Gal.  ii.  i,  9,  13  :  *'  .  .  . 
insomuch  that  ieven  Barnabas  was  carried  away  with  their  dissimula- 
tion ")  give  the  impression  that  Barnabas  was  personally  known  to  the 
readers,  and  seem  more  natural  if  addressed  to  the  Churches  in  South 
Galatia,  where  Barnabas  had  been  a  fellow-labourer  with  Paul. 

(9)  The  words  in  Gal.  ii.  5  :  "To  whom  we  gave  place  in  the  way 
of  subjection,  no,  not  for  an  hour  ;  that  the  truth  of  the  gospel  might 
continue  lotihyoti"  have  a  more  definite  meaning  if  the  readers  were 
in  possession  of  the  gospel  before  the  occasion  referred  to.  But  this 
could  only  have  been  if  they  heard  the  apostle  preach  during  his  first 
missionary  journey — when  he  visited  the  cities  of  South  Galatia. 

(10)  The  language  of  Gal.  iii.  28  :  "  There  can  be  neither  Jew  nor 
Greek,  there  can  be  neither  bond  nor  free,  there  can  be  no  male  and 
female  :  for  ye  all  are  one  man  in  Christ  Jesus,"  would  also  be  more 


XII.  Galatians.  141 

appropriate  if  addressed  to  Churches  in  which  Greek  culture  was 
widely  diffused.  As  regards  the  Jewish  element,  it  is  known  to  have 
existed  both  in  North  and  South  Galatia. 

(11)  Although  the  supposition  of  Celtic  influence  in  the  Galatian 
Church  has  to  be  given  up,  an  equivalent  is  found  in  the  Oriental  char- 
acter of  the  Phrygians  and  Lycaonians,  which  gave  them  a  "  strong 
natural  affinity  for  the  Hebraic  type  of  Christianity." 

(12)  An  argument  is  derived  from  the  testimony  borne  by  various  -v 
readings  of  Codex  Bezae  in  favour  of  this  interpretation.  Special  / 
authority  is  claimed  for  this  MS.  in  any  question  affecting  Asia  Minor, 

as  its  readings  in  such  cases  (unlike  those  referring  to  Europe)  are  often 
valuable,  and  appear  to  embody  a  tradition  of  the  country  at  least  as 
old  as  the  second  century. 

It  may  be  well  to  add  that  according  to  Professor  Ramsay  the  pre- 
vailing misconception  as  to  the  meaning  of  Galatia  has  been  due  to 
the  fact  that  "  during  the  second  century  the  term  Galatia  ceased  to 
bear  the  sense  which  it  had  to  a  Roman  in  the  first  century.  The 
whole  of  central  and  southern  Lycaonia  was,  before  the  middle  of  the 
second  century,  separated  from  Galatia  and  formed  into  a  province 
Lycaonia." 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

"THE  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL  THE  APOSTLE   TO   THE   ROMANS." 

I.  Authorship. 

The  Pauline  authorship  of  this  epistle  is  universally 
admitted.  There  is  no  lack  of  external  evidence  in  its 
favour^ ;  but  its  strong  resemblance  to  Galatians  is  enough 
to  prove  its  common  authorship  with  that  epistle. 

Moreover,  a  comparison  of  its  contents  with  other  Pauline 
epistles  and  with  the  Book  of  Acts  affords  valuable  con- 
firmation of  its  genuineness  and  authenticity.  Besides  the 
remarkable  coincidences  with  regard  to  the  time  and  place 
of  its  composition  (p.  146),  the  following  points  are  worthy 
of  notice,  (i)  The  statement  of  the  writer's  long-felt  desire 
to  visit  Rome,  and  of  his  hope  of  now  doing  so  after 
fulfilling  his  mission  to  Jerusalem,  is  in  harmony  with  the 
purpose  expressed  by  the  apostle  at  Ephesus  some  time 
before.-  (2)  The  request  which  he  makes  to  the  Christians 
at  Rome  that  they  would  unite  with  him  in  prayer  that 
he  "  may  be  delivered  from  them  that  are  disobedient  in 
Judsea,"    corresponds    with    the    apostle's    expression    of 

1  It  is  quoted  expressly  or  virtually  by  many  times  from  coming  to  you  :   but 

Clement  of  Rome,  Polycarp,  Basilides,  now,  having  no  more  any  place  in  these 

Justin     Martyr,     Theophilus,     Tatian,  regions,  and  having  these  many  years  a 

Irenaeus    (reporting    the    testimony   of  longing  to  come  unto  you,  whensoever  I 

certain  Elders),  Clement  of  Alexandria,  go  unto  Spain  (for  I  hope  to  see  you  in 

TertuUian,  and   also   in   the   Letter  to  my  journey,  and  to  be  brought  on  my 

Diognetus,  and  that  of  the  Church  of  way  thitherward  by  you,  if  first  in  some 

Vienna  and  Lyons.    It  is  also  contained  measure  I  shall  have  been  satisfied  with 

in  the  Syriac  and  Old  Latin  Versions,  your  company)— but  now,   I  say,  I  go 

and  in  the  Muratorian  Canon.  unto   Jerusalem,    ministering   unto   the 

"  i.  13:  "And  I  would  not  have  you  saints.      For    it    hath    been    the   good 

ignorant,    brethren,    that    oftentimes    I  pleasure  of  Macedonia  and  Achaia  to 

purposed  to  come  unto  you  (and  was  make   a   certain    contribution    for    the 

hindered  hitherto),  that   I   might  have  poor  among  the  saints  that  are  at  Jeru- 

some  fruit  in  you  also,  even  as  in  the  salem."      Acts   xix.    21:     "Now   after 

rest     of    the     Gentiles."       xv.     22-26:  these   things    were    ended,    Paul    pur- 

"  Wherefore  also  I  was  hindered  these  posed  in  the  spirit,  when  he  had  passed 


XIII.  Ro7}ians.  143 

feeling  in  his  last  journey  to  Jerusalem.^  (3)  The  teaching 
in  this  epistle  and  in  Galatians  is  in  striking  harmony 
with  Paul's  mission  as  the  apostle  of  the  Gentiles,  and 
goes  far  to  explain  the  accusation  brought  against  him 
on  his  last  recorded  visit  to  Jerusalem.^  (4)  The  nature 
of  the  visit  to  Rome  contemplated  by  the  writer  of  this 
epistle,  "that  I  may  come  unto  you  in  joy  through  the 
will  of  God,  and  together  with  you  find  rest"^  is  so 
very  different  from  what  the  apostle  actually  experienced, 
when  he  was  carried  a  prisoner  to  Rome,  that  it  could 
not  have  been  so  described  by  any  one  who  derived 
his  information  from  the  Book  of  Acts. 

From  one  of  the  closing  salutations  we  learn  that  the 
epistle  was  written  by  Tertius  as  the  apostle's  amanuensis.* 

2.    The  Readers. 

"To  all  that  are  in  Rome,  beloved  of  God,  called  to  be 
saints."^  These  words  and  the  absence  of  any  mention  of 
bishops  and  deacons  either  in  this  epistle  or  in  the  account 
of  the  welcome  which  Paul  received  from  the  Roman 
brethren  three  years  afterwards*"  would  seem  to  indicate 
that    there    was    no    formally    organised     Church    in    the 

through  Macedonia  and  Achaia,  to  go  hearsed  one  by  one  the  things  which 

to  Jerusalem,  saying,  After  I  have  been  God  had  wrought  among  the  Gentiles 

there,  I  must  also  see  Rome."  by  his  ministry.     And  they,  when  they 

1  XV.  30,  31  :  , "  Now  I  beseech  you,  heard  it,  glorified  God;  and  they  said 
brethren,  by  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  unto  him.  Thou  seest,  brother,  how 
by  the  love  of  the  Spirit,  that  ye  strive  many  thousands  there  are  among  the 
together  with  me  in  your  prayers  to  God  Jews  of  them  which  have  believed  ;  and 
for  me  ;  that  I  may  be  delivered  from  they  are  all  zealous  for  the  law  :  and 
them  that  are  disobedient  in  Jud«a,  they  have  been  informed  concerning 
and  that  my  ministration  which  I  have  thee,  that  thou  teachest  all  the  Jews 
for  Jerusalem  may  be  acceptable  to  the  which  are  among  the  Gentiles  to  for- 
saints."  Acts  xx.  22,  23;  "And  now,  sake  Moses,  telling  them  not  to  circum- 
behold,  I  go  bound  in  the  spirit  unto  cise  their  children,  neither  to  walk  after 
Jerusalem,  not  knowing  the  things  that  the  customs." 

shall  befall   me  there :    save   that   the  ^  xv.  32. 

Holy  Ghost  testifieth  unto  me  in  every  ■*  xvi.  22  :   "I  Tertius,  who  write  the 

city,  saying  that   bonds  and  afflictions  epistle,  salute  you  in  the  Lord." 

abide  me."  s  j,  y. 

2  Acts  xxi.  17-21:  "And  when  we  ^  Acts  xxviii.  15:  "And  from  thence 
were  come  to  Jerusalem,  the  brethren  [i.e.  from  Rome)  the  brethren,  when 
received  us  gladly.  And  the  day  they  heard  of  us,  came  to  meet  us  as 
following  Paul  went  in  with  us  unto  far  as  The  Market  of  Appius,  and  The 
James  ;  and  all  the  elders  were  present.  Three  Taverns  :  whom  when  Paul  saw, 
And  when  he  had  saluted  them,  he  re-  he  thanked  God,  and  took  courage." 


144 


Neiu  Testament  and  Its  Writers. 


XIII. 


city,  but  merely  groups  of  believers  meeting-  for  worship 
in  private  houses.^  They  seem  to  have  been  mainly  of 
Gentile  origin.^  But  the  whole  tenor  of  the  epistle, 
abounding  as  it  does  in  quotations^  from  the  Old  Testa- 
ment and  in  allusions  to  the  Jewish  Law,  clearly  shows 
that  they  had  been  led  to  a  knowledge  of  the  truth  through 
their  connection  with  the  Jewish  faith  as  proselytes  of  the 
gate  (indeed,  some  of  them  appear  to  have  been  born  Jews)^ 
and  hence  the  expression,  "  I  speak  to  men  that  know  the 
law."^  The  Jews  had  for  a  long  time  been  a  numerous  and 
powerful  section  of  the  community  at  Rome,''  and  their 
religion  had  gained  great  influence  among  the  educated 
classes.  The  introduction  of  Christianity  among  them  had 
apparently  been  due  not  to  apostolic  labour  (certainly  not 
to  that  of  Peter,'^  whose  alleged  episcopate  of  twenty- 
five  years  at  Rome  is  unsupported  by  evidence  in  the 
New  Testament  or  elsewhere),  but  to  the  influence  of 
Christian  travellers,  especially,  we  may  believe,  of  the 
"  sojourners    from     Rome,    both    Jews    and    proselytes," 


1  xvi.  3-5  :  "  Salute  Prisca  and  Aquila 
my  fellow-workers  in  Christ  Jesus,  who 
for  my  life  laid  down  their  own  necks  ; 
unto  whom  not  only  I  give  thanks,  but 
also  all  the  churches  of  the  Gentiles  : 
and  salute  the  church  that  is  in  their 
house,"  cf.  ver.  23:  "  Gaius  my  host, 
and  of  the  whole  church,  saluteth  you." 

2  i.  5,  6 :  "  Through  whom  we  received 
grace  and  apostleship,  unto  obedience 
of  faith  among  all  the  nations,  for  his 
name's  sake  :  among  whom  are  ye  also, 
called  to  be  Jesus  Christ's."  13-15:  "And 
I  would  not  have  you  ignorant,  brethren, 
that  oftentimes  I  purposed  to  come  unto 
you  (and  was  hindered  hitherto),  that  I 
might  have  some  fruit  in  you  also,  even 
as  in  the  rest  of  the  Gentiles.  I  am 
debtor  both  to  Greeks  and  to  Barbar- 
ians, both  to  the  wise  and  to  the 
foolish.  So,  as  much  as  in  me  is,  I 
am  ready  to  preach  the  gospel  to  you 
also  that  are  in  Rome."  xi.  13-24  :  "  But 
I  speak  to  you  that  are  Gentiles,"  &c. 
XV.  15,  16:  "But  I  write  the  more 
boldly  unto  you  in  some  measure,  as 
putting  you  again  in  remembrance, 
because  of  the  grace  that  was  given 
me  of  God,  that  I  should  be  a  minister 
of  Christ  Jesus  unto  the  Gentiles,  minis- 


tering the  gospel  of  God,  that  the  offer- 
ing up  of  the  Gentiles  might  be  made 
acceptable,  being  sanctified  by  the  Holy 
Ghost." 

3  More  than  sixty  in  number. 

■*  ii.  17:  "But  if  thou  bearest  the 
name  of  a  Jew,  and  restest  upon  the 
law."  xvi.  7  :  "  Salute  Andronicus  and 
Junias,  my  kinsmen." 

5  vii.  I. 

6  Thousands  of  Jewish  captives  were 
brought  to  Rome  by  Pompey  from  the 
East,  about  63  B.C.  ;  and  from  that 
time  forward  the  Jews  continued  to 
grow  in  numbers  and  influence  until, 
in  the  next  century,  Seneca  could  say 
of  them,  Victoribus  victi  leges  dederunt, 
"The  conquered  have  given  laws  to 
their  conquerors." 

''  "  It  is  not  without  significance  that, 
among  the  frescoes  of  the  Catacombs, 
the  only  figure  of  an  apostle  which  is 
represented  separately  from  the  rest  of 
the  twelve  is  that  of  St.  Paul,  described 
as  Paulus  Pastor  Apostolus,  side 
by  side  with  a  figure  of  the  Good  Shep- 
herd. In  none  of  the  Catacombs  is  St. 
Peter  specially  designated  by  name  or 
attribute." — Marriott's  Testitnotty  of  the 
Catacombs. 


XIII.  Ro7Jians.  145 

who  had  witnessed  the  wonderful  works  of  God  on 
the  great  day  of  Pentecost.^  Although  Paul  had  never 
been  at  Rome,  many  of  the  Christians  there  were  per- 
sonally known  to  him  —  possibly  owing  to  their  banish- 
ment from  Rome  by  the  Edict  of  Claudius,  —  as  we 
may  infer  from  the  numerous  greetings  in  the  closing 
chapter.^  From  the  apostle's  language  it  would  appear 
that  the  condition  of  the  Christians  at  Rome  was  in  many 
respects  satisfactory,^  and  in  keeping  with  this  we  learn 
from  Tacitus  that  a  great  multitude  of  Christians  suffered 
martyrdom  there  in  the  reign  of  Nero  a  i&w  years  later. 
But  there  are  also  expressions  which  would  indicate  the 
existence  of  weakness  and  disagreement  among  them,  in 
connection  with  certain  scruples  felt  by  some  of  their 
number  with  regard  to  the  eating  of  animal  food  and 
the  observance  of  days  and  seasons.*  They  were  also 
liable  to  many  serious  temptations,  as  we  may  infer  from 
the  exhortations  in  chapters  xii.,  xiii. ;  and  their  spiritual 
life  required  to  be  strengthened.^ 

3.  Date  and  Place  of  Composition. 

From  the  writer's  circumstances,  as  stated  in  the  epistle, 
viewed  in  the  light  of  relative  passages  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment, we  gather  that  the  epistle  was  written  towards  the 
close  of  Paul's  second  visit  to  Corinth  (early  in  58  A.D.), 
on  the  eve  cf  his  journey  to  Jerusalem  to  carry  up  the  alms 
collected  for  the  poor  brethren  there,  after  which  he  was 
to  make  his  long-intended  visit  to  Rome.^ 

1  Acts  ii.  10.  8  XV.  22-26  ^quoted  p.  142,   ?iote  2) ; 

2  But  see  pp.  149-50.  Acts   x.x.   1-3   (quoted  p.  146,   note  6) ; 

3  i.  8:  "First,  I  thank  my  God  xxiv.  17-19:  "  Now  after  many  years  I 
through  Jesus  Christ  for  you  all,  that  came  to  bring  alms  to  my  nation,  and 
your  faith  is  proclaimed  throughout  the  offerings:  amidst  which  they  found  me 
whole  world."  xv.  14:  "And  I  myself  purified  in  the  temple,  with  no  crowd, 
also  am  persuaded  of  you,  my  brethren,  nor  yet  with  tunmlt :  but  there  were 
that  ye  yourselves  are  full  of  goodness,  certain  Jews  from  Asia — who  ought  to 
filled  with  all  knowledge,  able  also  to  have  been  here  before  thee,  and  to  make 
admonish  one  another."  accusation,  if  they  had   aught   against 

^  Chap.  XV.  me"  ;  i  Cor.  xvi.  1-4  (quoted  p.  121,  (3), 

^  i.  II :  "  For  I  long  to  see  you,  that  and  104,  7iote-^)\  2 Cor.  viii.  1-4:  "More- 

I  may  impart  unto  you  some  spiritual  over,  brethren,  we  make  known  to  you 

gift,  to  the  end  ye  may  be  established."  the  grace  of  God  which  hath  been  given 


146  Neiu  Testament  and  Its  Writers.  xiii. 


In  remarkable  harmony  with  this  inference  as  to  the 
date  of  the  epistle  are  the  facts  (i)  that  of  those  who 
"accompanied  Paul  as  far  as  Asia "^  on  his  last  journey 
towards  Jerusalem,  three,  namely,  Sosipater,  Gaius,  and 
Timothy  send  their  salutations  in  this  epistle^ ;  (2)  that 
salutations  are  sent  to  Priscilla  and  Aquila,  who  are  men- 
tioned as  having  rendered  great  service  and  incurred  great 
danger  on  behalf  of  the  apostle  and  in  the  interests  of  the 
Church  of  the  Gentiles  ^ — which  finds  confirmation  in 
statements  made  elsewhere  relating  to  a  somewhat  earlier 
period*;  (3)  that  the  apostle  speaks  of  having  preached 
the  Gospel  "  from  Jerusalem,  and  round  about  even  unto 
Illyricum,"^  adjoining  the  western  frontier  of  Macedonia 
— a  statement  which  could  not  have  been  made  before  his 
second  recorded  visit  to  Europe,*^  as  on  the  first  occasion 
his  visit  was  confined  to  the  towns  along  its  eastern  coast/ 

Equally  in  keeping  with  the  inference  as  to  the  place  of 
composition,  viz.,  Corinth,  are  the  facts  (i)  that  "  Gaius  my 
host "  and  "  Erastus  the  treasurer  of  the  city,''  send  their 
greetings,^  Gaius  being  elsewhere  mentioned  by  the  apostle  * 
as  one  of  the  very  few  persons  at  Corinth  whom  he  had 

in  the  churches  of  Macedonia  ;  how  that  tarried  after  this  yet  many  days,  took 

in  much  proof  of  affliction   the   abun-  his  leave  of  the  brethren,    and   sailed 

dance    of    their    joy    and    their    deep  thence  for  Syria,  and  with  him  Priscilla 

poverty  abounded   unto   the    riches  of  and  Aquila."      ver.  26:   "And  he  (/.<?. 

their  liberality.     For  according  to  their  Apollos)  began  to  speak  boldly  in  the 

power,  I  bear  witness,  yea  and  beyond  synagogue.       But   when    Priscilla   and 

their    power,    they   gave   of  their   own  Aquila  heard  him,  they  took  him  unto 

accord,  beseeching  us  with  much  intreaty  them,  and  e.xpounded  unto  him  the  way 

in  regard  of  this  grace  and  the  fellow-  of  God  more  carefully."    i  Cor.  .\vi.  19; 

ship  in  the  ministering  to  the  saints;"  "The    churches    of  Asia    salute   you. 

2  Cor.  ix.  I,  2(quotedp.i20,  «o/6' A(i) ).  Aquila   and    Prisca    salute    you   much 

1  Acts  XX.  4.  in    the    Lord,  with  the  church  that  is. 

2  xvi.  21-23.  in  their  house." 
2  xvi.  3-5  (quoted  p.  144,  note  i).  ^  ^v.  19. 

*  Acts  xviii.  1-3:  "  After  these  things  "  Acts  xx.  i,  2:  "And  after  the  up- 

he  departed  from  Athens,  and  came  to  roar  was  ceased,  Paul  having  sent  for 

Corinth.     And  he  found  a  certain  Jew  the  disciples  and  exhorted  them,  took 

named   Aquila,    a   man   of  Pontus   by  leave  of  them,  and  departed  for  to  go 

race,   lately  come  from  Italy,  with  his  into   Macedonia.       And  when   he  had 

wife  Priscilla,  because  Claudius  had  com-  gone    through    those   parts,    and    had 

manded   all   the  Jews   to   depart  from  given  them  much  exhortation,  he  came 

Rome:  and  he  came  unto  them  ;  and  into  Greece." 

because  he  was  of  the  same  trade,  he  ''  Acts  xvi. — xviii. 

abode   with  them,   and  they  wrought;  ^  xvi.  23. 

for    by    their    trade    they    were     tent-  ^  i  Cor.  i.  14. 
makers."     ver.  18:   ''And  Paul,  having 


XIII.  Romans.  147 

himself  baptized,  while  Erastus,  in  the  Book  of  Acts,  is 
sent  by  the  apostle  from  Ephesus  into  Macedonia  along 
with  Timothy,  being  "  two  of  them  that  ministered  unto 
him"^  and  is  mentioned  at  a  still  later  period,  in  St. 
Paul's  second  epistle  to  Timothy,  as  having  then  "  abode 
at  Corinth  "  -  ;  (2)  that  Phoebe,  by  whom  the  epistle  was 
apparently  sent  to  Rome,  is  commended  as  "  a  servant  of 
the  church  that  is  at  Cenchreae,"  ^  which  was  one  of  the 
ports  of  Corinth  that  had  been  previously  visited  by  Paul.* 

4.  Character  and  Contents. 

In  an  intellectual  sense  this  epistle'  may  be  said  to  be 
the  apostle's  masterpiece  ;  theologically  it  is  the  most  im- 
portant of  all  his  epistles.  Coleridge  has  pronounced  it  "the 
most  profound  work  ever  written."  Calvin  said  of  it  that 
"  it  opened  the  door  to  all  the  treasures  in  the  Scriptures  "  ; 
while  Luther  considered  it  "  the  chief  book  of  the  New 
Testament,  and  the  purest  Gospel." 

As  already  mentioned,  it  bears  a  striking  resemblance  to 
Galatians  (written  a  short  time  before  it)  not  only  in  indi- 
vidual words  and  phrases,  but  in  the  general  drift  of  its 
teaching  with  regard  to  the  superiority  of  the  Gospel  to  the 
Law.  It  is,  however,  more  dispassionate  in  tone,  being 
less  personal  in  its  character,  and  containing  a  more  full 
and  comprehensive  treatment  of  the  subject. 

It  may  be.  said  to  embody  the  results  of  the  recent  con- 
troversy with  the  Judaizers,  stated  in  a  logical  and  system- 
atic form,  and  at  the  same  time  with  such  moderation 
and  caution  as  was  fitted  to  disarm  the  prejudices  and  con- 
ciliate the  favour  of  the  Jewish  element  in  the  Church. 
That  element  had  not  yet  been  infected  with  the  leaven  of 

1  Acts  xix.  22.  succourer  of  many,  and  of  mine  own 

-  2  Tim.  iv.  20.  self."    In  connection  with  the  mention 

^  xvi.   I,  2:   "I  commend  unto  you  of  Phoebe  it   is   interesting  to   observe 

Phoebe  our  sister,  who  is  a  servant  of  that  even  at  this  early  period  the  C'hrist- 

the  church  that  is  at  CenchreK  :  that  ye  ian  Church  had  learned  to  appreciate 

receive  her  in  the  Lord,  worthily  of  the  the  value  of  female  energy  and  devo- 

saints,  and  that  ye  assist  her  in  what-  tion. 

soever  matter  she   may   have   need    of  ■*  Acts  xviii.   18:   "having  shorn  his 

you:  for  she  herself  also  hath  been  a  head  in  Cenchrere." 


1 48  New  Testament  and  Its  Writers.  xiii. 

malignant  bigotry,  emanating  from  Jerusalem,  which  had 
made  its  influence  felt  in  so  many  of  the  other  Churches 
where  Paul  had  laboured  ;  and  the  epistle  was  intended  to 
serve  the  purpose  of  prevention  rather  than  cure.  It  was 
also  intended  to  pave  the  way  for  the  apostle's  visit  to  the 
Church  at  Rome,  whose  destined  greatness  he  foresaw,  and 
by  whose  assistance  he  hoped  to  obtain  a  still  wider  field 
for  his  missionary  labours.^ 

Being  addressed  to  the  Christians  of  imperial  Rome,  this 
epistle  is  distinguished  by  its  cosmopolitan  tone,  which  is 
shown  at  the  outset  by  a  reference  to  the  "  obedience  of 
faith"  to  which  "all  the  nations"  are  called  in  "Jesus 
Christ  our  Lord."  ^  It  sets  forth  the  universality  of  the 
Gospel'^  as  "  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation  to  every  one 
that  believeth  ;  to  the  Jew  first,  and  also  to  the  Greek  "  *  ; 
and  brings  out  the  contrast  not  between  Moses  and  Christ, 
as  in  Galatians,  but  between  Adajn  and  Christ  2.^  the  repre- 
sentatives of  nature  and  oi grace. ^  With  no  less  propriety, 
in  writing  to  the  inhabitants  of  a  city  that  was  the  seat  of 
justice  for  the  whole  civilised  world,  the  apostle  looks  at 
the  great  question  of  salvation  from  a  judicial  or  forensic 
point  of  view, — exhibiting  the  bearing  of  the  Gospel  on 
the  interests  of  law  and  righteousness,  proving  the  guilt 
of  all  men,  both  Jews  and  Gentiles,  at  the  bar  of  divine 
judgment,  and  proclaiming  the  doctrine  of  justification  by 
faith  as  the  only  means  of  acceptance  with  God.^ 

1  "In  time  of  war,  a  good  general  among  all  the  nations,  for  his  name's 
knows  well  the  importance  of   seizing       sake." 

commanding    positions,    and    discerns  3  fhe  word  "  all "  (ttSs)  occurs  nearly 

them  by  a  sort  of  intuition.     St.  Paul  seventy  times  in  the  epistle, 

had  this   faculty,   as  a   leader   of  that  ■*  i.  i6. 

little    army   which,    with    its    spiritual  •'  v.  12-21. 

weapons  of  warfare,  went  forth  to  sub-  8  The  words  diKaiocrvvT]  ("right- 
due  the  nations  to  Christ:  and,  while  eousness"),  diKaiow  ("justify"),  5t/cai- 
journeying  in  the  east,  he  kept  this  ^^a  ("  ordinance,"  &c.),  occur  oftener 
steadily  in  view  :  '  I  must  also  see  j^  jj^jg  ^Yian  in  all  the  other  epistles  of 
Rome.'"— -Fraser's  SynopUcal  Lectures,  p.^^j  p^  together.  Another  word  of 
Third  Series,  p.  13.            ,     ,        ,        ,  frequent      occurrence       is       Xoyl^ofiai 

2  i.  4,  5:  "WHio  was  declared  to  be  (."reckon,"  "impute"),  which  the 
the  Son  of  God  with  power  according  ^p^^^j^  ^^^^  ^^^^,^^  ^j^^g  ^^  ^j^^^p^  j^^ 
to  the  spirit  of  holiness,  by  the  resurrec-  j^  connection  with  the  doctrine  of 
tion  of  the  dead  ;  even  Jesus  Christ  our  justification 

Lord,  through  whom  we  received  grace 
and  apostleship,  unto  obedience  of  faith 


XIII.  Romans.  149 

Having  set  forth  the  great  scheme  of  redemption,  the 
apostle  deals  with  its  bearing  on  the  fortunes  of  tJie  chosen 
people.'^  He  shows  that  their  failure  to  enter  into  the 
blessings  of  the  New  Covenant,  which  gave  him  "  great 
sorrow  and  unceasing  pain  in  (his)  heart,"  was  due  to  their 
own  spiritual  blindness,  as  foretold  in  the  writings  of  the 
prophets.  Their  recent  experience  was  in  keeping  with 
the  analogy  of  God's  dealings  with  them  in  the  past,  but 
their  rejection  was  only  partial  and  temporary,  destined  to 
lead  in  the  mysterious  wisdom  of  divine  providence  to  a 
still  fuller  manifestation  of  divine  goodness.  "  For  God 
hath  shut  up  all  unto  disobedience,  that  he  might  have 
mercy  upon  all." 

After  this  lesson  on  the  philosophy  of  history,  in  which 
the  apostle  seeks  to  justify  the  ways  of  God  to  men,  and 
is  moved  again  and  again  to  adoration  of  the  divine 
wisdom,  he  exhorts  his  readers  to  the  cultivation  of 
various  graces  and  virtues  as  the  best  refutation  of  the 
charge  of  lawlessness  to  which  the  Gospel  of  the  free 
grace  of  God  is  liable. ^  In  conclusion,  he  sends 
numerous  greetings  to  individual  Christians  with  whom 
he  is  personally  acquainted,  many  of  whom  had 
rendered  valuable  service  to  the  Church,  and  with  whom 
he  had  probably  been  brought  into  contact  at  Ephesus  and 
other  great  centres. 

There  are  several  breaks  in  the  epistle  where  it  might 
have  fitly  terminated.^  This  circumstance,  together  with 
variations  in  the  arrangement  of  the  last  two  chapters  in 
some  of  the  MSS.,^  and  the  blanks  left  in  a  MS.  of  some 
importance  ^  where  the  words  "  in  Rome  "  occur  in  the  open- 
ing chapter  (vv.  7  and  14),  has  given  rise  to  the  idea  that  the 


1  Chaps,  ix. — xi.  also  divided    as    to    the    place  to   be 

2  xi.  32.  assigned  to  the  Benediction,  whether  at 

3  Chaps,  xii. — xiv.  ver.  24  or  at  the  close  of  the  epistle.  In 
*  XV.  33,  xvi.  20,  and  24  (A.V.).  the  R.V.  it  is  retained  only  in  the  latter 
'  The  closing  doxology  (xvi.  25-27)  is  place.     It   is   suggestive,  too,   that  the 

absent  from  several  MSS.,  in  others  it  last    two    chapters     were     omitted    in 

follows  xiv.  23,  and  in  the  Alexandrine  Marcion's  copy  of  the  epistle. 

MS.  it  occurs  there  as  well  as  at  the  ^  Cod.  Harleianus  (G). 
end   of    our    epistle.      Authorities   are 


ISO 


Netu  Testavicnt  mid  Its  Writers. 


XIII. 


epistle   was  sent  as  an  encyclical   or  circular-letter,  with 
varying  terminations,  to  a  number  of  Churches.  ^ 

We  may  add  that  the  fact  of  this  epistle,  though  addressed 
to  Romans,  being  written  in  Greek,  is  not  only  in  keeping 
with  the  apostle's  literary  habit,  but  is  also  in  accordance 
with  the  general  use  of  Greek  at  that  time  throughout  the 
civilised  world.  The  Christian  congregations  of  the  first 
century  were  like  so  many  Greek  colonies,  as  far  as  lan- 
guage was  concerned  ;  and  it  was  not  till  the  latter  part 
of  the  second  century  that  a  Latin  version  and  a  Latin 
literature  arose,  chiefly  for  the  benefit  of  the  Christians  in 
North  Africa.2 


1  The  list  of  salutations  at  the  close, 
also,  is  scarcely  what  we  should  have 
expected  in  a  letter  addressed  to  the 
Christians  at  Rome  (where  Paul  had 
not  yet  been,  and  where  "  all  forsook  " 
him  some  years  later),  both  on  account 
of  its  great  length,  and  in  several  of  the 
names  and  designations  it  contains, 
e.g.  "Salute  Epaenetus,  the  firstfniits 
of  Asia."  "Salute  Andronicus  and 
Junias,  iny  kinsmen,  and  my  fellmv- 
p7'iso?iers."  "Salute  Priscaand  Aquila," 
— who  were  at  Ephesus  a  year  before 
(i  Cor.  xvi.  19),  and  receive  greetings  in 
the  same  place  some  years  later  (2  Tim. 
iv.  19).  Hence  it  has  been  conjectured 
that  the  salutations  were  added  to  the 
epistle  when  a  copy  of  it  was  sent  to 
Ephesus,  which  is  the  view  taken  by 
Schultz,  Ewald,  Renan,  Reuss,  and 
Farrar.  On  the  other  hand,  it  has  to  be 
observed  that  the  preponderance  of 
Greek  names  in  the  list  is  no  argument 
against  the  Roman  destination  of  the 
epistle,  as  the  membership  of  the  Church 


at  Rome  was  for  a  long  time  mainly  of  a 
Greek  character.  This  need  not  surprise 
us,  for  ' '  the  Greeks  were  the  most  ener- 
getic, as  they  were  also  the  most  intelli- 
gent and  inquiring  of  the  middle  classes 
in  Rome  at  this  time.  The  successful 
tradesmen,  the  skilled  artisans,  the 
confidential  servants  and  retainers  of 
noble  houses — almost  all  the  activity 
and  enterprise  of  the  common  people, 
whether  for  good  or  for  evil— were 
Greek."  No  less  than  ten  of  the  names 
in  the  list  (three  of  them  comparatively 
rare,  viz.,  Tryphasna,  Tryphosa,  and 
Patrobas),  have  been  discovered  in  the 
Columbaria  ( ' '  pigeon-holes  " ),  where  the 
ashes  of  the  dead  were  placed,  on  the 
outskirts  of  Rome.  (See  Lightfoot  on 
Phiiippians,  pp.  169-176.) 

2  "  Even  later,  the  ill-spelt,  ill-written, 
inscriptions  of  the  catacombs,  with  their 
strange  intermingling  of  Greek  and 
Latin  characters,  show  that  the  church 
(in  Rome)  was  not  yet  fully  national- 
ised. " — Lightfoot . 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

THE   EPISTLES   OF   THE   IMPRISONMENT. 

After  the  letter  to  the  Romans  there  is  an  interval  of 
three  or  four  years  before  we  can  trace  any  further  corre- 
spondence on  the  part  of  the  apostle.  Leaving  Corinth  in 
the  spring  of  58  A.D.,  he  made  his  way  to  Jerusalem  along 
the  coast  of  Macedonia  and  Asia  Minor.  In  the  course 
of  his  journey  we  find  him  taking  farewell  of  one  Church 
after  another,  under  a  strong  presentiment  of  approaching 
calamity.  Soon  after  his  arrival  in  Jerusalem,  he  was 
arrested  on  account  of  a  tumult  resulting  from  a  last  effort 
which  he  made  to  conciliate  the  Jewish  Christians. 
Removed  as  a  prisoner  to  Csesarea,  he  was  there  detained 
in  custody  for  two  years  under  the  governor  Felix  ;  but, 
soon  after  the  appointment  of  Festus  as  the  successor  of 
Felix,  the  apostle  appealed  for  trial  to  the  imperial 
judgment-seat,  and  was  sent  to  Rome  accordingly,  under  a 
military  escort.  After  a  disastrous  voyage,  in  which  he 
suffered  shipwreck  on  the  island  of  Malta,  where  he  had  to 
pass  the  winter,  he  arrived  at  Rome  in  the  early  summer 
of  61  A.D. — his  long-cherished  wish  at  length  realised,  but 
in  a  very  different  manner  from  what  he  had  at  one  time 
anticipated.  Owing  to  protracted  delay  in  the  hearing  of 
his  case — a  thing  by  no  means  uncommon  under  the 
Emperors! — he  remained  for  two  years  in  military  custody, 

1  "  Thus,  we  find  that  Tiberius  was  in  the    attendance  of   witnesses    from    a 

the   habit   of  delaying  the   hearing   of  distance.  .  .  .  We  read  of  an  interval 

causes,    and   retaining   the   accused   in  of    twelve    months     permitted    during 

prison  unheard,  merely  out  of  procras-  Nero's  reign,  in  the  case  of  an  accusation 

tination.  .  .   .  Moreover,    it   was  quite  against     Suilius,     for      misdemeanours 

in  accordance  with  the  regular  course  committed   during   his   government   of 

of  Roman  jurisprudence,  that  the  Court  Proconsular  Asia.     The  accusers  of  St. 

should  grant  a  long  suspension  of  the  Paul  might  fairly  demand  a  longer  sus- 

cause,  on  the  petition  of  the  prosecutor,  pension  ;  for  they  accused  him  of  offences 

that  he  might  he  allowed  time  to  procure  committed  not  only  in  Palestine  (which 


152 


Nezu  Testament  and  Its  Writers. 


XIV. 


his  right  hand  chained  to  the  left  hand  of  the  soldier  who 
guarded  him.  He  was  permitted,  however,  to  reside  in 
his  own  hired  lodging,  and  to  hold  free  converse  with 
friends  and  visitors. 

It  was  during  this  period  that  the  epistles  to  the 
PJiilippians,  the  Colossians,  P/nleinoti,  and  the  Ephesians 
were  composed.  Each  of  these  epistles  bears  tokens  of 
having  been  written  during  the  author's  imprisonment.^ 
It  is  further  evident  that  this  imprisonment  was  occasioned 
by  his  preaching  of  the  Gospel  to  the  Gentiles.^  Some 
think  that  the  imprisonment  in  question  was  that  which 


was  far  more  remote  than  Proconsular 
Asia  from  Rome)  but  also  over  the  whole 
Empire." — Conybeare  and  Howson, 
The  Life  and  Epistles  of  St.  Paul, 
chap.  XXV. 

1  Phil.  i.  7, 13,  14, 17  :  "I  have  you  in 
my  heart,  inasmuch  as,  both  in  my  bonds 
and  in  the  defence  and  confirmation  of 
the  gospel,  ye  all  are  partakers  with 
me  of  grace.  ...  So  that  my  bonds 
became  manifest  in  Christ  throughout 
the  whole  praetorian  guard,  and  to  all 
the  rest ;  and  that  most  of  the 
brethren  in  the  Lord,  being  confident 
through  my  bonds,  are  more  abundantly 
bold  to  speak  the  word  of  God  without 
fear.  .  .  .  But  the  other  proclaim 
Christ  of  faction,  not  sincerely,  thinking 
to  raise  up  affliction  for  me  in  my 
bonds."  Col.  iv.  3,  18  :  "  Withal  pray- 
ing for  us  also,  that  God  may  open  unto 
us  a  door  for  the  word,  to  speak  the 
mystery  of  Christ,  for  which  I  am  also 
in  bonds  ;  .  .  .  The  salutation  of  me 
Paul  with  mine  own  hand.  Remember 
my  bonds.  Grace  be  with  you." 
Philemon  9,  10,  13  :  "Yet  for  love's  sake 
I  rather  beseech,  being  such  a  one  as 
Paul  the  aged,  and  now  a  prisoner  also 
of  Christ  Jesus:  I  beseech  thee  for  my 
child,  whom  I  have  begotten  in  my 
bonds,  .  .  .  whom  I  would  fain  have 
kept  with  me,  that  in  thy  behalf  he 
might  minister  unto  me  in  the  bonds  of 
the  gospel."  Eph.  iii.  i,  iv.  i :  "  For  this 
cause  I  Paul,  the  prisoner  of  Christ 
Jesus  in  behalf  of  you  Gentiles.  .  .  . 
I  therefore,  the  prisoner  in  the  Lord, 
beseech  you  to  walk  worthily  of  the 
calling  wherewith  ye  were  called."  Cf. 
Acts  xxviii.  16-20:  "And  when  we 
entered  into  Rome,  Paul  was  suffered 
to  abide  by  himself  with  the  soldier  that 
guarded   him.     And   it   came  to   pass, 


that  after  three  days  he  called  together 
those  that  were  the  chief  of  the  Jews : 
and  when  they  were  come  together,  he 
said  unto  them,  I,  brethren,  though  I 
had  done  nothing  against  the  people, 
or  the  customs  of  our  fathers,  yet  was 
delivered  prisoner  from  Jerusalem  into 
the  hands  of  the  Romans :  who,  when 
they  had  examined  me,  desired  to  set 
me  at  liberty,  because  there  was  no 
cause  of  death  in  me.  But  when  the 
Jews  spake  against  it,  I  was  constrained 
to  appeal  unto  Caesar ;  not  that  I  had 
aught  to  accuse  my  nation  of.  For  this 
cause  therefore  did  I  intreat  you  to  see 
and  to  speak  with  me :  for  because  of 
the  hope  of  Israel  I  am  bound  with  this 
chain." 

2  Col.  i.  24-27:  "Now  I  rejoice  in 
my  sufferings  for  your  sake,  and  fill  up 
on  my  part  that  which  is  lacking  of  the 
afflictions  of  Christ  in  my  flesh  for  his 
body's  sake,  which  is  the  church ; 
whereof  I  was  made  a  minister,  accord- 
ing to  the  dispensation  of  God  which 
was  given  me  to  you- ward,  to  fulfil  the 
word  of  God,  even  the  mystery  which 
hath  been  hid  from  all  ages  and  genera- 
tions :  but  now  hath  it  been  manifested 
to  his  saints,  to  whom  God  was  pleased 
to  make  known  what  is  the  riches  of  the 
glory  of  this  mystery  among  the  Gentiles, 
which  is  Christ  in  you,  the  hope  of 
glory."  Eph.  vi.  19,  20:  "And  on  my 
behalf,  that  utterance  may  be  given  unto 
me  in  opening  my  mouth,  to  make 
known  with  boldness  the  mystery  of  the 
gospel,  for  which  I  am  an  ambassador 
in  chains ;  that  in  it  I  may  speak 
boldly,  as  I  ought  to  speak."  Cf.  Acts 
xxii.  21,  22:  "And  he  said  unto  me, 
Depart :  for  I  will  send  thee  forth  far 
hence  unto  the  Gentiles.  And  they 
{i.e.  the  crowd  in  Jerusalem)  gave  him 


XIV. 


The  Epistles  of  the  Imprisonment. 


153 


the  apostle  underwent  at  Caesarea.^  But  in  several  respects 
the  circumstances  referred  to  in  the  epistles  harmonise 
better  with  his  stay  in  Rome,  {a)  The  impression  made 
by  his  bonds  which  "  became  manifest  in  Christ  throughout 
the  whole  praetorian  guard,  and  to  all  the  rest,"  -  and  the 
mention  of  "  Caesar's  household,"  ^  point  to  the  imperial  city 
as  the  scene  of  his  influence.  iU)  The  apostle's  purpose  of 
visiting  Macedonia  after  his  release  would  not  answer  to 
his  state  of  mind  while  he  was  looking  forward  to  a  visit  to 
Rome.*  ic)  The  expression  used  in  the  Book  of  Acts  to 
describe  Paul's  confinement,  namely  "  this  chain,"  is  almost 
identical  with  the  language  of  the  epistle  to  the  Ephesians 
on  the  same  subject^;  while  the  same  cannot  be  said  of 
the  apostle's  allusion  to  his  condition  at  Caesarea  when  he 
replied  to  Agrippa,  "  I  would  to  God,  that  whether  with 
little  or  with  much,  not  thou  only,  but  also  all  that  hear  me 
this  day,  might  become  such  as  I  am,  except  these  bonds  "^ 


audience  unto  this  word ;  and  they 
lifted  up  their  voice,  and  said,  Away  with 
such  a  fellow  from  the  earth  :  for  it  is 
not  fit  that  he  should  live."  Acts  xxvi. 
19-21  :  "  Wherefore,  O  king  Agrippa,  I 
was  not  disobedient  unto  the  heavenly 
vision :  but  declared  both  to  them  of 
Damascus  first,  and  at  Jerusalem,  and 
throughout  all  the  country  of  Judasa, 
and  also  to  the  Gentiles,  that  they  should 
repent  and  turn  to  God,  doing  works 
worthy  of  repentance.  For  this  cause 
the  Jews  seized  me  in  the  temple,  and 
assayed  to  kill  me."     See  also  twte  i. 

1  This  is  the  view  taken  by  Meyer  and 
Reuss — contrary  to  the  ancient  and  pre- 
vailing opinion  of  the  Church. 

2  The  result  of  so  many  soldiers  in 
their  turn  coming  into  close  contact 
with  the  apostle  during  his  military 
custody.  Phil.  i.  12,  13:  "Now  I 
would  have  you  know,  brethren,  that 
the  things  which  happened  unto  me 
have  fallen  out  rather  unto  the  progress 
of  the  gospel ;  so  that  my  bonds  became 
manifest  in  Christ  throughout  the  whole 
praetorian  guard,  and  to  all  the  rest." 
Col.  i.  6  :  "the  gospel  which  is  come 
unto  you ;  even  as  it  is  also  in  all  the 
world  bearing  fruit  and  increasing,  as 
it  doth  in  you  also."  "The  camp  and 
the  court  were  always  centres  of  Christ- 
ianising influence." — Mommsen. 


3  Phil.  iv.  22:  "All  the  saints  salute 
you,  especially  they  that  are  of  Caesar's 
household."  Caesar's  household  ("do- 
mus"  or  "familia  Cajsaris")  formed  an 
immense  establishment,  including  thou- 
sands of  slaves  and  freedmen  employed 
in  all  kinds  of  official  and  domestic 
duties  (as  we  learn  from  recently  dis- 
covered monuments  in  Rome),  such  as 
those  of  tutor,  accountant,  secretary, 
land-steward,  librarian,  money-changer, 
architect,  surgeon,  oculist,  and  other 
offices  of  a  more  menial  character.  A 
"chief  of  the  tasters"  (procurator 
pr;i;gustatorum)  is  mentioned,  implying 
that  these  were  numerous  enough  to 
form  a  separate  class.  In  such  a  house- 
hold, Greeks  and  Orientals  would  pre- 
vail, even  more  than  in  the  city  at  large. 

■*  Phil.  ii.  19,  24  :  "  But  I  hope  in  the 
Lord  Jesus  to  send  Timothy  shortly 
unto  you,  that  I  also  may  be  of  good 
comfort,  when  I  know  your  state.  .  .  . 
But  I  trust  in  the  Lord  that  I  myself 
also  shall  come  shortly." 

5  Acts  xxviii.  20:  "Becau.se  of  the 
hope  of  Israel  I  am  bound  with  this 
chain  "  (rrji'  aXvaif  ravrriv  TreplKeifiai). 

Eph.  vi.  20:  "for  which  I  am  an 
ambassador  in  chains"  (or  "in  a  chain," 
R.V.  margin,  iv  akvaei). 

•i  Acts  xxvi.  29  :  tuv  Sea/mCiv  tovtwv. 


154  New  Testament  and  Its  Writers.  xiv. 

id)  Both  Colossians  and  Philippians  are  written  in  the 
name  of  Paul  and  Timothy,  but  we  find  no  trace  of  the 
latter  in  connection  with  Paul's  imprisonment  at  Caesarea. 
{e)  The  great  metropolis  of  the  world  was  a  much  more 
likely  refuge  than  Caesarea  for  a  runaway  slave  like 
Onesimus. 

With  regard  to  the  order  in  which  these  four  epistles 
were  written,  many  critics  have  been  disposed  to  assign 
Philippians  to  a  later  date  than  the  three  others.  But 
none  of  their  arguments  when  examined  appear  to  have 
much  weight.  Philemon — which  can  be  shown  to  be 
contemporaneous  with  Colossians  (see  p.  i68) — affords  as 
probable  an  indication  of  having  been  written  when  the 
imprisonment  was  drawing  to  a  close  as  anything  to  be 
found  in  Philippians.^  We  cannot  infer  much  from  such 
expressions,  as  the  apostle's  prospects  may  have 
undergone  various  vicissitudes  during  his  imprisonment ; 
nor  yet  from  the  absence  of  salutations  on  the  part  of 
Luke  and  Aristarchus  in  Philippians  as  contrasted  with 
Colossians  and  Philemon ;  for  there  are  several  ways 
of  accounting  for  this.-  We  are  on  safer  ground 
when  we  base  our  judgment  on  the  general  character  of  the 
several  epistles.  When  we  do  so  we  are  led  to  the  con- 
clusion that  this  epistle  marks  the  transition  from  Romans 
to  Colossians  and  Ephesians.  While  the  former  of  these 
resembles  it  in  many  points  both  verbal  and   doctrinal,^ 

1  Philemon    ver.     22  :     "  But    withal  behalf  of  you  all  making  my  supplica- 

prepare  me  also  a  lodging :   for  I  hope  tion   with  joy,    for  your  fellowship   in 

that  through   your   prayers   I   shall  be  furtherance  of  the  gospel  from  the  first 

granted  unto  you."  day  until  now;  being  confident  of  this 


-  E.g.    Luke  may  have  been  tempor-  very  thing,  that  he  which  began 

arily   absent    from    Rome   when    Paul  work  in  you  will  perfect  it  until  the  day 

wrote  to  the  Philippians,  and  Aristarchus  of  Jesus  Christ :  even  as  it  is  right  for 

may    not    yet    have    arrived.     It   will  me  to  be  thus  minded  on  behalf  of  you 

scarcely   do,     however,     to    say    (with  all,  because  I  have  you  in  my  heart,  in- 

Lightfoot)  that  the  salutations  are  also  asmuch  as,  both  in  my  bonds  and  in  the 

absent  from   Ephesians,   if  that  epistle  defence  and  confirmation  of  the  gospel, 

is  regarded    as   an   encyclical,    for   the  ye  all  are  partakers  with  me  of  grace, 

absence  of  all  such  personal  messages  For  God  is  my  witness,  how  I  long  after 

is  then   to   be   regarded   as  one  of  its  you  all  in  the  tender  mercies  of  Christ 

peculiar  features.     {See '^.  181.)  Jesus"  ;   Rom.  i.  8-12:   "  First,  I  thank 

3  Cf.  Phil.  i.  3-8  :   "I  thank  my  God  my  God   through  Jesus  Christ  for  you 

upon  all  my  remembrance  of  you,  al-  all,     that     your     faith     is     proclaimed 

ways  in  every  supplication  of  mine  on  throughout  the  whole  world.     For  God 


XIV.  The  Epistles  of  the  Imprisonment.  155 

we  discern  in  the  two  latter  a  new  phase  of  doctrine  of 
which  scarcely  any  trace  can  be  found  in  the  Epistle  to  the 
Philippians.  No  doubt  this  peculiarity  of  Colossians  and 
Ephesians  was  partly  due  to  their  being  addressed  to  the 
theosophic  Christians  of  Asia  Minor  instead  of  to  Churches 
in  Europe  ;  but  if  Phihppians  had  been  written  subsequently 
to  them,  it  could  scarcely  have  failed  to  bear  very  distinct 
traces  of  the  speculative  questions  which  had  so  recently 
engaged  the  apostle's  attention. 

While  Philippians  therefore  was  probably  anterior  in 
date  to  the  three  others,  the  effects  which  the  apostle's 
"  bonds "  are  stated  to  have  already  produced  in  Rome,^ 
as  well  as  the  account  of  Epaphroditus'  mission  from 
Philippi  to  Rome,  with  its  attendant  circumstances,^  imply 
that  some  considerable  time  had  elapsed  since  the  apostle's 
arrival.  We  may  therefore  assign  this  epistle  to  the  early 
part  of  62  A.D.,  and  the  three  others  to  the  close  of  the 
same  year  or  the  beginning  of  63  A.D.^ 

is   my  witness,   whom  I   serve   in   my  coming  conformed   unto  his  death ;  if 

spirit  in  the  gospel  of  his  Son,  how  un-  by  any  means  I  may  attain  unto  the  re- 

ceasingly   I   make  mention  of  you,  al-  surrection  from  the  dead "  ;  Rom.    vi. 

ways  in  my  prayers  making  request,  if  4,   S^  ff- '•    "We  were   buried  therefore 

by  any  means  now  at  length  I  may  be  with  him  through  baptism  into  death  : 

prospered  by  the  will  of  God  to  come  that  like  as  Christ  was  raised  from  the 

unto  you.     For  I  long  to  see  you,  that  dead  through  the  glory  of  the  Father, 

I  may  impart  unto  you  some  spiritual  so  we  also  might  walk  in  newness  of 

gift,  to  the  end  ye  may  be  established."  life.    For  if  we  have  become  united  with 

Phil.  i.    10  :  "  approve  the  things  that  him  by  the  likeness  of  his  death,   we 

are  excellent "  ;  Rom.  ii.  18:  "  approv-  shall  be  also  by  the  likeness  of  his  re- 

est  the  things  that  are  excellent.    Phil.  surrection,"  &c. 

iii.    5:    "of   the   stock    of    Israel,    of  1  Phil.  i.  12-14 :  "  Now  I  would  have 

the   tribe  of  Benjamin,   a   Hebrew  of  you   know,    brethren,    that    the   things 

Hebrews";   Rom.    xi.    i:   "For  I  also  which    happened   unto  me  have  fallen 

am  an  Israelite,  of  the  seed  of  Abraham,  out   rather   unto   the   progress   of    the 

of  the  tribe  of  Benjamin.    Phil.  iii.  9 :  gospel ;    so    that    my    bonds    became 

"and  be  found  in  him,  not  having  a  manifest  in  Christ  throughout  the  whole 

righteousness  of  mine  own,  even  that  pr;etorian  guard,   and  to  all  the  rest; 

which  is  of  the  law,  but  that  which  is  and   that    most  of  the  brethren  in  the 

through  faith  in  Christ,  the  righteous-  Lord,     being     confident     through    my 

ness  which  is  of  God  by  faith "  ;   Rom.  bonds,    are   more   abundantly   bold   to 

X.  3,  4  :   "  For  being  ignorant  of  God's  speak  the  word  of  God  without  fear." 

righteousness,  and  seeking  to  establish  ^  phji.  ii.  25-30;  iv.  18. 

their  own,  they  did  not  subject  them-  ^  it  is  possible  the  apostle  may  have 

selves  to  the  righteousness  of  God.     For  written  other  letters  during  his  imprison- 

Christ  is  the  end  of  the  law  unto  right-  ment.     His  anxiety  about  his  own  pro- 

eousness  to  every  one  that  believeth.  spects  did  not  prevent  him  from  engag- 

Phil.  iii.  10,    11:    "that    I    may  know  ing  in  active  labour  among  the  soldiers 

him,  and  the  power  of  his  resurrection,  and   others   brought  into  contact  with 

and  the  fellowship  of  his  sufferings,  be-  him,  or  from  superintending  by  means 


156  Nezu  Testament  and  Its  Writers.  xiv. 


"  THE  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL  THE  APOSTLE  TO  THE 
PHILIPPIANS." 

I.  Authorship. 

The  Pauline  authorship  of  this  epistle  is  generally- 
admitted.^  It  is  a  characteristic  outpouring  of  the 
apostle's  tender,  affectionate,  and  devout  heart ;  the  cir- 
cumstances which  gave  rise  to  it  come  out  in  the  course 
of  the  epistle  in  a  casual  and  unaffected  manner ;  and 
corroboration  of  them  is  found  in  the  Book  of  Acts  and 
elsewhere.  It  is  difficult  to  imagine  what  purpose  a 
forger  could  have  had,  or  how  he  could  ever  have  achieved 
success,  in  fabricating  a  letter  of  such  a  distinctly  personal 
character. 

With  regard  to  external  evidence,  traces  of  expressions 
used  in  the  epistle  may  be  found  in  many  of  the  earliest 
Christian  writers  (outside  of  the  New  Testament)  whose 
works  have  come  down  to  us.-  By  the  close  of  the  second 
century  its  general  acceptance  in  the  Church  is  beyond  the 
possibility  of  doubt.  One  writer  (Tertullian,  about  200 
A.D.)  states  that  it  had  all  along  been  read  and  acknow- 
ledged by  the  Church  of  Philippi. 

2.    The  Readers. 

"  To  all  the  saints  in  Christ  Jesus  which  are  at  Philippi, 
with  the  bishops  and  deacons."^  Philippi  was  the  first 
place  at  which  St.  Paul  preached  the  Gospel  in  Europe — 

of  his  colleagues  and  envoys  the  various  '-Clement     ot     Rome     (apparently), 

Churches  which  looked  to  him  for  guid-  Ignatius,  Polycarp  (who,  writing  to  the 

ance.     In  this  connection  the  following  Philippians,  refers  to  the  epistle  which 

names   occur   in    the   epistles  : — Luke,  Paul   had   addressed   to  them),    Justin 

Timothy,    John    Mark,    Demas,    Jesus  Martyr;  and  the  authors  of  the  Letter 

Justus,     Epaphroditus     (of     Philippi),  to  Diognetus,   and  of  the  Epistle  sent 

Tychicus   (of   Ephesus),    Epaphras   (of  by  the  Churches  of  Vienne  and  Lyons. 

Colossce),    and    Aristarchus   (of    Thes-  It    is   also  found    in    the    Muratorian 

salonica).  Canon  and  the  Syriac   and  Old  Latin 

1  It   was   rejected   by   Baur   on  very  Versions   of   the   second   century,    and 

slender  grounds  ;  and  his  opinion  has  was  acknowledged  by  Marcion. 
not   been   adopted  by  Hilgenfeld,   the  ^  i.  i. 

chief  living  representative  of  the  "  Tub- 
ingen "  school. 


XIV.  Philippians.  157 

in  the  course  of  his  second  missionary  journey,  52  A.D.  A 
very  full  and  graphic  account  of  this  visit  is  given  by  St. 
Luke,  who  along  with  Timothy  and  Silas  accompanied  the 
apostle  on  the  occasion.^  The  city  lay  a  few  miles  inland 
from  the  coast  of  Macedonia,  at  the  confluence  of  Asiatic 
and  European  life  on  the  great  Egnatian  highway,  where 
there  was  a  pass  in  the  mountain  barrier  stretching  north 
and  south.  Founded  on  an  ancient  site  by  Philip,  king  of 
Macedonia  (who  named  it  after  himself)  in  the  middle  of 
the  fourth  century  B.C.,  the  city  was  raised  to  the  dignity 
of  a  Roman  colony  by  Augustus  (42  A.D.)  in  commemora- 
tion of  his  great  victory  over  Brutus  and  Cassius  gained  in 
the  immediate  vicinity.  As  a  colony  it  became  politically 
"  a  miniature  likeness  of  Rome "  ;  and  the  high  sense  of 
Roman  citizenship  which  pervaded  the  community  may  be 
seen  at  several  points  in  Luke's  narrative  -  as  well  as  in 
allusions  in  the  epistle.^  There  were  comparatively  few 
Jews  in  the  place,  as  we  may  infer  from  the  want  of  any 
regular  synagogue  *  and  the  absence  of  any  Hebrew  name 
in  the  list  of  converts  ;  and  to  this  fact  the  constant  loyalty 
of  the  Philippians  to  the  person  and  teaching  of  the  apostle 
was  probably  in  some  measure  due.  Only  three  members 
of  the  Church  are  specially  mentioned  in  the  account  of 
Paul's  visit.  These  are  a  proselyte  of  Asia,  a  Greek,  and  a 
Roman^ — representing  the  catholic  nature   of  the  Church 

1  Acts  xvi.  11-40.  the  magistrates :  and  they  feared,  when 

2  Acts  xvi.  20,  21,  35-38  :   "  And  when  they  heard  that  they  were  Romans." 
they  had  brought  them  unto  the  magis-  ^  '\.  2-y:  "  Behave  as  citizens  worthily 
trates,  they  said,  These  men,  being  Jews,  of  the  gospel  of  Christ"  (R.V.  margin); 
do  exceedingly  trouble  our  city,  and  set  iii.    20:     "For    our    citizenship    is    in 
forth  customs  which  it  is  not  lawful  for  heaven." 

us   to    receive,    or    to    observe,    being  4  Acts  xvi.  13:  "  And  on  the  sabbath 

Romans.  .  .  .  But   when   it  was   day,  day  we  went  forth  without  the  gate  by  a 

the  magistrates  sent  the  Serjeants,  say-  river  side,  where  we  su|5posed  there  was 

ing.  Let  those  men  go.     And  the  jailor  a  place  of  prayer." 

reported  the  words  to  Paul,  saying,  The  ^  (i)  "  Lydia,  a  seller  of  purple,  of 
magistrates  have  sent  to  let  you  go :  the  city  of  Thyatira,  one  that  wor- 
now  therefore  come  forth,  and  go  in  shipped  God";  (2)  "a  certain  maid 
peace.  But  Paul  said  unto  them,  They  having  a  spirit  of  divination  "  ;  and  (3) 
have  beaten  us  publicly,  uncondemned,  "  the  jailor."  The  order  of  their  con- 
men  that  are  Romans,  and  have  cast  us  version,  as  Lightfoot  remarks,  is  signi- 
into  prison ;  and  do  they  now  cast  us  ficant  of  the  historical  progress  of 
out  privily  ?  nay  verily  ;  but  let  them  Christianity  :  first  the  proselyte,  next 
come  themselves  and  bring  us  out.  And  the  Greek,  then  the  Roman, 
the  Serjeants  reported  these  words  unto 


158 


Nczu  Testament  and  Its  Writers. 


XIV. 


which  Paul  had  come  to  establish, — representing,  too,  the 
liberal  and  liberating  spirit  of  the  Gospel,  two  of  them 
being  women,  and  one  of  the  two  a  stave,  the  absolute 
property  of  her  master.  The  consecrating  influence  of  the 
Gospel  on  fainity  retations  is  brought  out  here  for  the  first 
time  in  the  history  of  the  Church, — Lydia's  "  household  " 
being  baptized  with  her,  and  the  jailor  rejoicing  greatly 
"  with  all  his  house."^  The  prominence  assigned  to  women 
both  here  and  in  the  neighbouring  Churches  of  Thessa- 
lonica  and  Beroea  -  is  in  harmony  with  what  we  know  from 
other  sources  to  have  been  characteristic  of  Macedonian 
society.^ 

Paul's  visit  to  Philippi  was  memorable  not  only  for  the 
converts  whom  he  made  but  also  for  the  sufferings  he  en- 
dured and  the  signal  deliverance  that  was  granted  to  him.'* 
The  Church  which  he  then  formed  cxcctted  att  others  in  its 
devoted  attachment  to  his  person  and  its  repeated  acts  of 


1  xvi.  15,  34. 

-  Acts  xvi.  13  :  "And  on  the  sabbath 
day  we  went  forth  without  the  gate  [i.e.  at 
Philippi)  by  a  river  side,  where  we  sup- 
posed there  was  a  place  of  prayer  ;  and 
we  sat  down,  and  spake  unto  the  women 
which  were  come  together."  Acts  xvii.  4, 
12:  "Andsomeof  them  were  persuaded, 
and  consorted  with  Paul  and  Silas ;  and 
of  the  devout  Greeks  a  great  multitude, 
and  of  the  chief  women  not  a  few  (i.e. 
at  Thessalonica).  .  .  .  Many  of  them 
therefore  believed  ;  also  of  the  Greek 
women  of  honourable  estate,  and  of 
men,  not  a  few  "  [i.e.  at  Beroea).  Cf.  iv. 
2,  3 :  "I  e.xhort  Euodia,  and  I  exhort 
Syntyche,  to  be  of  the  same  mind  in  the 
Lord.  Yea,  I  beseech  thee  also,  true 
yoke-fellow,  help  these  women,  for  they 
laboured  with  me  in  the  gospel,  with 
Clement  also,  and  the  rest  of  my  fellow- 
workers,  whose  names  are  in  the  book 
of  life." 

■*  "  The  extant  Macedonian  inscrip- 
tions seem  to  assign  to  the  sex  a  higher 
social  influence  than  is  common  among 
the  civilized  nations  of  antiquity.  In 
not  a  few  instances  a  metronymic  takes 
the  place  of  the  usual  patronymic  ;  and, 
in  other  cases,  a  prominence  is  given  to 
women  which  can  hardly  be  accidental. 
For  instance,  one  inscription  records  how 


a  wife  erects  a  tomb  '  for  herself  and 
her  dear  husband,  out  of  their  common 
earnings ' ;  another,  how  a  husband 
erects  a  tomb  'for  his  devoted  and 
darling  wife,  and  himself,'  also  from 
their  common  savings.  There  are  also 
cases  of  monuments  erected  in  honour 
of  women  by  public  bodies.  Again  the 
deferential  language  used  by  the  hus- 
band speaking  of  the  wife,  is  worthy 
of  notice  [e.g.  '  Eutyches,  in  memory 
of  Stratonica,  his  life-partner  and 
lady.')." — Lightfoot  on  Philippians, 
P-  55- 

*  Acts  xvi.  22-26  :  "And  the  multitude 
rose  up  together  against  them  :  and  the 
magistrates  rent  their  garments  off  them, 
and  commanded  to  beat  them  with  rods. 
And  when  they  had  laid  many  stripes 
upon  them,  they  cast  them  into  prison, 
charging  the  jailor  to  keep  them  safely  : 
who,  having  received  such  a  charge,  cast 
them  into  the  inner  prison,  and  made 
their  feet  fast  in  the  stocks.  But  about 
midnight  Paul  and  Silas  were  praying 
and  singing  hymns  unto  God,  and  the 
prisoners  were  listening  to  them  ;  and 
suddenly  there  was  a  great  earthquake, 
so  that  the  foundations  of  the  prison- 
house  were  shaken :  and  immediately 
all  the  doors  were  opened ;  and  every 
one's  bands  were  loosed." 


XIV.  Philippians.  159 

generosity  to  him.^  This  generosity  he  accepted,  contrary 
to  his  ordinary  rule,  because  of  his  perfect  confidence  in  the 
sincerity  and  affection  of  the  donors. 

We  hear  of  two  subsequent  visits  which  the  apostle  paid 
to  Philippi — in  57  and  58  A.D.'-  His  experience  on  these 
occasions,  as  well  as  in  other  communications  which  he 
held  with  them,  had  done  much  to  cheer  his  heart.  In 
their  contributions  for  the  relief  of  the  poor  saints  at 
Jerusalem  they  appear  to  have  shown,  in  common  with 
the  other  Macedonians,  remarkable  liberality  and  self- 
denial.^ 

2.  Date  and  Place  of  Co77iposition. 
At  Rome,  61-62  a.d.  (see  pp.  151-S). 

3.   Character  and  Contents. 
Of  all  St.  Paul's  epistles  this  is  the  most  benign,  breathing 
a  spirit  of  the  warmest  syinpathy  and  approval.      He  ad- 
dresses  the    Philippians    as   "my   brethren    beloved    and 
longed  for,  my  joy  and  crown."*     In  this  respect  it  sur- 


1  iv.  15,  16:  "  And  ye  yourselves  also  panied  him  as  far  as  Asia  Sopater  of 
know,  ye  Philippians,  that  in  the  be-  Beroea,  the  son  of  Pyrrhus ;  and  of 
ginning  of  the  gospel,  when  I  departed  the  Thessalonians,  Aristarchus  and 
from  Macedonia,  no  church  had  fellow-  Secundus  ;  and  Gaius  of  Derbe,  and 
ship  with  me  in  the  matter  of  giving  and  Timothy  ;  and  of  Asia,  Tychicus  and 
receiving,  but  ye  only ;  for  even  in  Trophimus.  But  these  had  gone 
Thessalonica  ye  sent  once  and  again  before,  and  were  waiting  for  us  at 
unto  my  need."  2  Cor.  xi.  9:  "And  Troas.  And  we  sailed  away  from 
when  I  was  present  with  you  and  was  in  Philippi  after  the  days  of  unleavened 
want,  I  was  not  a  burden  on  any  man ;  bread,  and  came  unto  them  to  Troas 
for  the  brethren,  when  they  came  from  in  five  days;  where  Vi^e  tarried  seven 
Macedonia,  supplied  the  measure  of  my  days." 

want;  and  in  every  thing  I  kept  myself  ■*2Cor.  viii.  1-4:  "Moreover,  brethren, 

from  being  burdensome  unto  you,  and  we  make  known  to  you  the  grace  of  God 

so  will  I  keep  myself."  which  hath  been  given  in  the  churches 

2  Acts  XX.  1-6  :  ' '  And  after  the  uproar  of  Macedonia  ;  how  that  in  much  proof 
was  ceased,  Paul  having  sent  for  the  of  affliction  the  abundance  of  their  joy 
disciples  and  exhorted  them,  took  leave  and  their  deep  poverty  abounded  unto 
of  them,  and  departed  for  to  go  into  the  riches  of  their  liberality.  For  ac- 
Macedonia.  And  when  he  had  gone  cording  to  their  power,  I  bear  witness, 
through  those  parts,  and  had  given  yea  and  beyond  their  power,  they  gave 
them  much  exhortation,  he  came  into  of  their  own  accord,  beseeching  us  with 
(jreece.  And  when  he  had  spent  three  much  entreaty  in  regard  of  this  grace 
months  there,  and  a  plot  was  laid  against  and  the  fellowship  in  the  ministering  to 
him  by  the  Jews,  as  he  was  about  to  set  the  saints." 

sail  for  Syria,  he  determined  to  return  ^  iv.  i. 
through  Macedonia.    And  there  accom- 


1 60  New  Testamefit  and  Its  Writers.  xiv. 


passes  even  i  Thessalonians,  which  it  resembles  not  a  little 
in  its  gentle  and  confiding  tone. 

Without  any  assertion  of  apostolic  authority,  it  begins 
with  a  very  full  thanksgiving  for  the  tokens  of  grace 
which  the  Philippians  had  so  generally  manifested  since 
the  Gospel  was  preached  among  them.  These  tokens  led 
the  apostle  to  cherish  a  confident  persuasion  that  they 
would  advance  more  and  more  in  the  Christian  life  and 
realise  a  fulfilment  of  his  constant  prayer  on  their  behalf.^ 

He  then  adverts  to  his  own  circumstances,  and  refers  to 
the  salutary  influence  of  Jiis  bonds  in  witnessing  for  Christ 
among  the  imperial  guard  and  in  the  city  generally,  while 
his  friends  were  stimulated  by  his  example,  and  even  his 
enemies  the  Judaisers  were  provoked  to  greater  activity  on 
his  account.  The  mutilated  Gospel  taught  by  these  latter 
he  regards  as  better  than  none  for  those  who  knew  not 
Christ;  and  instead  of  troubling  himself  about  their 
opposition  to  him,  he  will  rather  take  comfort  from  their 
labour,  feeling  assured  that  all  his  trials  will  work  together 
for  good.  He  is  prepared  either  for  life  or  for  death  as  the 
will  of  the  Lord  may  be,  although  he  has  a  strong  impres- 
sion that  he  will  be  delivered  and  permitted  to  visit  Philippi 
once  more.2  In  any  case,  he  would  appeal  to  them  to  be 
firm  and  tmited  in  defence  of  Christ's  cause — counting  it  a 
token  of  salvation  that  they  are  permitted  "not  only  to 
believe  on  him,  but  also  to  suffer  in  his  behalf."  ^  He 
would  counsel  them  to  avoid  all  rivalry  and  self-seeking, 
and  to  cultivate  that  humility  which  was  so  signally  dis- 
played by  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  was  attended  in  His 
case  with  such  glorious  results.*  He  exhorts  them  to  work 
out  their  salvation  with  fear  and  trembling  as  in  God's 
presence  and  with  God's  help,  striving  to  walk  worthy  of 
their  calling  and  to  justify  the  apostle's  boast  concerning 
them.  They  might  rest  assured  that  he  was  as  devoted  to 
their  interests  as  ever,  and  was  ready,  if  need  be,  to  give 
up  his  life  on  their  behalf.^    He  hoped  soon  to  send  to  them 

1  i.  i-ii.  "  i.  12-26.  "^  i.  27-30.  ^  ii.  i-ii.  5  ii.  12-18. 


XIV.  Philippians.  i6i 

their  mutual  and  trusty  friend  Timothy  with  news  of  his 
prospects,  and  in  return  he  hopes  to  hear  of  their  state 
before  he  visits  them  in  person.  Meanwhile  he  is  sending 
to  them  Epaphroditus,  the  messenger  of  their  bounty, 
who  has  been  of  invaluable  service  to  him  since  his 
arrival,  but  whose  recent  illness  and  anxiety  on  their 
account  render  it  expedient  that  he  should  return  to 
Philippi.^ 

At  this  point-  it  would  seem  as  if  the  apostle  had 
intended  to  draw  to  a  close — probably  by  a  renewal  of 
his  counsels  to  unity  and  brotherly  love.  But  from  some 
cause  —  perhaps  owing  to  his  being  interrupted  by  fresh 
news  of  the  Judaisers — he  launches  into  a  new  subject, 
warning  his  converts  against  the  infatuation  of  those  who 
would  put  their  confidence  in  Jeivish  rights  or  privileges, 
and  avowing  his  own  renunciation  of  all  such  claims,  in 
view  of  the  new  life  which  comes  from  fellowship  with  the 
risen  and  exalted  Christ.^  That  life  cannot  be  realised 
without  strenuous  and  persevering  effort  in  the  path  of  duty. 
He  would  therefore  caution  them  against  the  gross  abuse 
of  the  doctrines  of  grace  which  some  are  guilty  of,  and 
he  bids  them  take  his  own  life  as  an  example  of  the 
Christian  course.*  In  the  last  chapter  he  returns  to  the 
subject  of  the  dissensions  among  them,  and  refers  to  two 
women  of  influence  in  the  Church  whom  he  is  anxious  to 
see  restored  to  terms  of  friendship.  For  this  purpose  he 
invokes  the  aid  of  Epaphroditus  ("  true  yoke-fellow  ")  and 
other  leading  members  of  the  Church.^  He  adds  several 
exhortations  of  a  general  nature  that  are  among  the  most 
beautiful  precepts  in  the  New  Testament.^     In  conclusion, 


1  ii.  19-30.  men.     The  Lord  is  at  hand.     In   no- 
-  iii.   i:     "Finally,  my  brethren,  re-  thing  be  anxious  ;    but  in  everything  by 
joice  in  the  IvOrd.     To  write  the  same  prayer   and   supplication   with   thanks- 
things    to    you,    to   me   indeed   is   not  giving  let  your  requests  be  made  known 
irksome,  but  for  you  it  is  safe."  unto   God.      And   the   peace   of   God, 
^  iii.  2-1 1.  which  passeth  all  understanding,  shall 
^  iii.  12-21.  guard  your  hearts  and  your  thoughts  in 
^  iv.  1-3.  Christ  Jesus.     Finally,  brethren,  what- 
6  iv.    4-9:     "  Rejoice    in    the    Lord  soever  things  are  true,  whatsoever  things 
alway  :  again  I  will  say,  Rejoice.     Let  are  honourable,  whatsoever  things  are 
your   forbearance    be    known   unto   all  just,  whatsoever  things  are  pure,  whatr 

L 


l62 


A^cw  Testament  and  Its  ]Vi  iters. 


XIV. 


before  sending  the  final  salutations,  he  thanks  the  Phil- 
ippians  warmly  for  the  renewal  of  their  bounty  towards 
him,  which  he  welcomes  not  so  much  on  his  own  account 
as  for  the  evidence  it  affords  of  their  devotion  to  the 
Gospel.  For  their  kindness  to  him  God  will  yet  reward 
them  with  the  higher  treasures  that  are  hid  in  Christ 
Jesus.  ^ 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  the  "bishops  and  deacons" 
specially  addressed  in  the  opening  of  the  epistle,-  represent 
the  only  two  classes  of  local  Church  office-bearers  that 
are  mentioned  in  the  New  Testament.  The  former  (bishops 
or  overseers,  R.V.  margin)  are  identical  with  the  "  elders  " 
or  presbyters  elsewhere  mentioned,'^  to  whom  were 
entrusted    the    a-overnins::    and    teacJiinz  functions    in    the 


soever  things  are  lovely,  whatsoever 
things  are  of  good  report ;  if  there  be 
any  virtue,  and  if  there  be  any  praise, 
think  on  these  things.  The  things 
which  ye  both  learned  and  received  and 
heard  and  saw  in  me,  these  things  do  : 
and  the  God  of  peace  shall  be  with 
you."  Cf.  ver.  4  with  iii.  i,  &c.  Suninia 
epistolae,  gaudeo,  gaudete  (Bengel). 
' '  Amid  poverty  and  imprisonment, 
with  the  frown  of  the  tyrant  bent  on 
him,  death  seeming  to  stare  him  in  the 
face,  the  fundamental  note  in  the  many- 
toned  music  of  his  letter  is  the  note  of 
joy.  He  recalls  to  our  minds  the 
runner  who,  at  the  supreme  moment 
of  Grecian  history,  brought  to  Athens 
the  news  of  Marathon.  Worn,  pant- 
ing, exhausted  with  the  effort  to  be 
the  herald  of  deliverance,  he  sank 
in  death  on  the  threshold  of  the 
first  house  which  he  reached  with 
the  tidings  of  victory,  and  sighed  forth 
his  gallant  soul  in  one  great  sob, 
almost  in  the  very  same  words  as 
those  used  by  the  apostle,  -)(a,lpf.re, 
XO.Lpo/J.€v,  '  Kejoiceye,  we  too  rejoice.'  " 
(P'arrar's  A/essages  of  the  Books,  p.  305, 
where  a  contrast  is  drawn  between  the 
"  serene  cheerfulness"  of  the  apostle  in 
his  imprisonment,  and  the  dejection  of 
such  men  as  Cicero,  Seneca,  Dante, 
Clarendon,  Atterbury,  Bolingbroke, 
under  like  trying  circumstances.) 

1  iv.  10-23.  Early  in  the  second  cen- 
turv  the  Philippians  had  the  privilege  of 
receiving  a  letter  from  Polycarp,  which 
is  still  extant  (see  Appendix,    p.    280). 


But,  beyond  that,  scarcely  anything  is 
known  of  their  subsequent  history.  ' '  Of 
the  church  which  stood  foremost  among 
all  the  apostolic  communities  in  faith 
and  love,  it  may  literally  be  said  that 
not  one  stone  stands  upon  another.  Its 
whole  career  is  a  signal  monument  of 
the  inscrutable  counsels  of  God.  Born 
into  the  world  with  the  brightest  promise, 
the  church  of  Philippi  has  lived  without 
a  history  and  perished  without  a  memo- 
rial. .  .  .  The  city  itself  has  long  been 
a  wilderness  "  (Lightfoot). 

"  i.  I.  "Bishops  and  deacons  "  are 
likewise  mentioned  in  the  First  Epistle 
of  Clement  (xliv. ) ;  and  in  the  Teaching 
of  the  Apostles  (xv. ),  where  they  are  de- 
scribed as  ' '  your  honourable  men  along 
with  the  prophets  and  teachers." 

3  We  cannot  suppose  that  the  apostle 
is  here  ignoring  the  elders  or  presbyters, 
when  he  salutes  ' '  the  bishops  and 
deacons,"  only.  Apart  from  this,  how- 
ever, the  identity  of  the  offices  is  per- 
fectly evident  from  a  comparison  of  the 
following  passages,  where  the  t^vo  words 
are  used  interchangeably  : — Acts  xx. 
17  and  28 ;  Titus  i.  5  and  7  {cf. 
I  Tim.  iii.  i  and  8,  with  v.  ij)  ;  1 
Pet.  v.  I  and  2.  A  similar  identi- 
fication is  apparent  in  the  language 
of  Clement  of  Rome  (§§  42,  44).  The 
name  eTriaKoiros  (bishop  =  overseer), 
which  in  the  New  Testament  is  applied 
to  officers  of  Gentile  Churches  only, 
is  borrowed  from  the  life  of  the  Greeks, 
and  represents  the  office  on  \\.s  practical 
side,  as  implying  a  work  oi  superi7ite?id- 


XIV. 


Philippians. 


\(r 


Church,  while  the  deacons  appear  to  have  been  specially 
charged  with  the  care  of  the  poor}  The  three  Episcopal 
orders  of  bishop,  priest,  and  deacon  cannot  be  distinctly 
traced  before  the  beginning  of  the  second  century.'- 


ence  ;  wpeajSurepos  (presbyter  =  elder) 
is  the  Greek  form  of  a  name  that  is  of 
frequent  occurence  in  the  Old  Testament 
/jpjV  and  is  expressive  rather  of  a£;c' 
V  ■"'/  rt«^  official  authority.  It  is 
frequently  applied  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment to  the  members  of  the  Jewish 
Sanhedrim  ;  but  as  a  title  of  office  in  the 
Christian  Church  it  was  borrowed  from 
the  Jewish  synagogue,  whose  presiding 
officers  were  called  by  this  name.  In 
the  Christian  sense  the  first  occurrence 
of  the  word  is  in  Acts  xi.  30  :  "  And 
the  disciples,  every  man  according  to 
his  ability,  determined  to  send  relief 
unto  the  brethren  that  dwelt  in  Judsea  : 
which  also  they  did,  sending  it  to  the 
elders  by  the  hand  of  Barnabas  and 
Saul." 

1  There  can  be  little  doubt  that  the 
uniform  tradition  of  the  ancient  Church 
is  right  when  it  represents  the  diaconate 
as  having  its  origin  in  the  appointment  of 
the  "seven  men  of  good  report,"  who 


were  set  over  the  administration  of 
charity  in  the  Church  at  Jerusalem  (Acts 
vi. ).  Though  they  are  not  called  deacons, 
the  corresponding  terms,  hiaKOvdv  and 
diaKovia,  are  applied  to  their  duties  (vers. 
1,2). 

2  The  office  of  bishop  in  this  sense 
appears  in  a  rudimentary  form  in  the 
Book  of  Acts,  in  the  pre-eminence  of 
James  the  Lord's  brother  in  the  Church 
at  Jerusaleni ;  and  we  have  also  ap- 
proaches to  it  in  the  commission  of  Tim- 
othy to  the  Church  at  Ephesus,  and  of 
Titus  to  that  of  Crete.  But  the  general 
development  of  the  office  only  took  place 
towards  the  close  of  the  first  century 
(with  the  approval,  it  may  have  been,  of 
the  apostle  John),  to  conserve  the  out- 
ward unity  of  the  Church.  (See  on  Igna- 
tian  Epistles,  Appendix,  p.  279.)  The 
subject  i.s  fully  discussed  in  Bishop  Light- 
foot's  dissertation  on  ''  The  Christian 
Ministry,"  in  his  commentary  on  Pliil- 
ippians. 


CHAPTER   XV. 

COLOSSIANS — PHILEMON. 

"  THE   EPISTLE   OF   PAUL   THE   APOSTLE   TO   THE 
COLOSSIANS." 

I.  Authorship. 

The  Pauline  authorship  of  this  epistle,  as  well  as  of  that 
to  the  Ephesians  (which  it  closely  resembles),  has  of  recent 
years  been  called  in  question,  not  for  any  want  of  external 
evidence,  but  because  of  its  peculiar  phraseology  as  com- 
pared with  the  earlier  epistles  of  Paul.^  The  objection, 
however,  is  one  of  little  force.  It  is  no  uncommon  thing 
for  a  writer's  vocabulary  to  undergo  a  considerable  change 
in  the  course  of  a  very  short  period,  when  he  is  placed 
amid  new  surroundings  and  under  the  influence  of  new 
associations.^  Anything  strange  about  the  apostle's  lan- 
guage in  this  epistle  is  sufficiently  explained  by  the 
circumstances  under  which  he  wrote,  and  was  evidently 
occasioned  by  the  new  errors  which  he  was  called  to 
encounter. 

It  is  alleged,  however,  that  we  have  in  this  epistle  not 
only  novelty  in  language  but  also  in  doctrine^  especially 
with  regard  to  the  nature  and  office  of  Christ.  But  the 
truth  is  we  have  in  the  Christology  of  this  epistle  only  the 
full  development  of  ideas  which  had  germinated  in  the 
apostle's  mind  years  before,^  and  are  to  be  found  in  other 

1  Expressions  are  borrowed  from  it  Xenophon,  for  example,  has  brought  to 
by  Justin  Martyr  and  Basilides,  and,  hght  a  remarkable  variation  of  language 
apparently,  by  still  earlier  writers  ;  it  is  in  the  books  he  wrote  after  he  began  to 
clearly  recognised  as  Paul's  by  Irenseus,  move  about  from  place  to  place  like  St. 
Clement  of  Alexandria,  and  Tertullian  ;  Paul.  See  Salmon's  Introduction  (4th 
it   was   acknowledged    by    Marcion,    a  edition)  p.  419.     Note  *. 

native  of  Asia  Minor,  and  it  is  found  in  -^  i  Thess.  i.  i  :   "  Paul,  and  Silvanus, 

the  Muratorian  Canon  and  the  Syriac  and  Timothy,  unto  the  church  of  the 

and  Old  Latin  Versions.  Thessalonians  in  God  the  Father  and 

2  A  close  examination  of  the  works  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ:  Grace  to  you 


XV. 


Colossians. 


165 


books  of  the  New  Testament.^  In  the  notable  passage  in 
PhiHppians  regarding  the  original  glory  and  the  ultimate 
exaltation  of  the  Saviour,  as  lofty  a  claim  is  made  on  His 
behalf  to  the  reverence  and  adoration  of  the  Church  as  is 
anywhere  to  be  found  in  this  epistle.'' 

It  is  worthy  of  note,  too,  that  this  epistle  has  a  special 
mark  of  genuineness  in  the  singular  connection  which 
subsists  between  it  and  the  Epistle  to  Philemon.^      This 


and  peace."  i  Cor.  viii.  6  :  ''  Yet  to  us 
there  is  one  God,  the  Father,  of  whom 
are  all  things,  and  we  unto  him  ;  and 
one  Lord,  Jesus  Christ,  through  whom 
are  all  things,  and  we  through  him." 
1  Cor.  xi.  3  :  "  But  I  would  have  you 
know,  that  the  head  of  every  man  is 
Christ ;  and  the  head  of  the  woman  is 
the  man  ;  and  the  head  of  Christ  is 
God."  2  Cor.  iv.  4:  "In  whom  the 
god  of  this  world  hath  blinded  the  minds 
of  the  unbelieving,  that  the  light  of  the 
gospel  of  the  glory  of  Christ,  who  is  the 
image  of  God,  should  not  dawn  upon 
them." 

1  I  John  i.  3  :  "  That  which  we  have 
seen  and  heard  declare  we  unto  you  also, 
that  ye  also  may  have  fellowship  with 
us  :  yea,  and  our  fellowship  is  with  the 
P'ather,  and  with  his  Son  Jesus  Christ." 
Heb.  i.  1-3  :  "  God,  having  of  old  time 
spoken  unto  the  fathers  in  the  prophets 
by  divers  portions  and  in  divers  manners, 
hath  at  the  end  of  these  days  spoken 
unto  us  in  his  Son,  whom  he  appointed 
heir  of  all  things,  through  whom  also 
he  made  the  worlds ;  who  being  the  efful- 
gence of  his  glory,  and  the  very  image 
of  his  substance,  and  upholding  all  things 
by  the  word  of  his  power,  when  he  had 
made  purification  of  sins,  sat  down  on 
the  right  hand  of  the  Majesty  on 
high." 

2  Phil.  ii.  5-11  :  "Have  this  mind  in 
you,  which  was  also  in  Christ  Jesus : 
who,  being  in  the  form  of  God,  counted 
it  not  a  prize  to  be  on  an  equality  with 
God,  but  emptied  himself,  taking  the 
form  of  a  servant,  being  made  in  the 
likeness  of  men  ;  and  being  found  in 
fashion  as  a  man,  he  humbled  himself, 
becoming  obedient  even  unto  death, 
yea,  the  death  of  the  cross.  Wherefore 
also  God  highly  exalted  him,  and  gave 
unto  him  the  name  which  is  above  every 
name  ;  that  in  the  name  of  Jesus  every 
knee  should  bow,  of  things  in  heaven 
and  things  on  earth  and  things  under  the 


earth,  and  that  every  tongue  should 
confess  that  Jesus  Christ  is  iLord,  to  the 
glory  of  God  the  Father." 

3  iv.  7-18:  "All  my  affairs  shall 
Tychicus  make  known  unto  you,  the 
beloved  brother  and  faithful  minister 
and  fellow-servant  in  the  Lord  :  whom 
I  have  sent  unto  you  for  this  very  pur- 
pose, that  ye  may  know  our  estate,  and 
that  he  may  comfort  your  hearts  ;  to- 
gether with  Onesimus,  the  faithful  and 
beloved  brother,  who  is  one  of  you.  They 
shall  make  known  unto  you  all  things 
that  are  done  here.  Aristarchus  my 
fellow-prisoner  saluteth  you,  and  Mark, 
the  cousin  of  Barnabas  (touching  whom 
ye  received  commandments  ;  if  he  come 
unto  you,  receive  him),  and  Jesus,  which 
is  called  Justus,  who  are  of  the  circum- 
cision :  these  only  are  my  fellow-workers 
unto  the  kingdom  of  God,  men  that 
have  been  a  comfort  unto  me.  Epaphras, 
who  is  one  of  you,  a  servant  of  Christ 
Jesus,  saluteth  you,  always  striving  for 
you  in  his  prayers,  that  ye  may  stand 
perfect  and  fully  assured  in  all  the  will 
of  God.  For  I  bear  him  witness,  that 
he  hath  much  labour  for  you,  and  for 
them  in  Laodicea,  and  for  them  in 
Hierapolis.  Luke,  the  beloved  physi- 
cian, and  Demas  salute  you.  Salute 
the  brethren  that  are  in  Laodicea,  and 
Nymphas,  and  the  church  that  is  in 
their  house.  And  when  this  epistle  hath 
been  read  among  you,  cause  that  it  be 
read  also  in  the  church  of  the  Laodi- 
ceans ;  and  that  ye  also  read  the  epistle 
from  Laodicea.  And  say  to  Archippus, 
Take  heed  to  the  ministry  which  thou 
hast  received  in  the  Lord,  that  thou  fulfil 
it.  The  salutation  of  me  Paul  with  mine 
own  hand.  Remember  my  bonds.  Grace 
be  with  yovi."  Philemon,  vers.  2,  10-12, 
23,  24  ;  "  And  to  Apphia  our  sister,  and 
to.-\rchippus  our  fellow-soldier,  andtothe 
church  in  thy  house  :  .  .  .  I  beseech  thee 
for  my  child,  whom  I  have  bcgcjtten  in 
my  bonds,  Onesimus,  who  was  aforetime 


1 66  Neiv  Testament  and  Its  Writers.  xv. 

connection  is  such,  that  if  the  letter  to  Philemon  be 
genuine  (as  generally  admitted),  Colossians  must  likewise 
be  so.  Otherwise  it  must  be  a  forgery  founded  on  PJiile- 
nwn, — which  is  very  unlikely  for  the  following  reasons  : 
(i)  In  the  Epistle  to  Philemon  there  is  no  mention  what- 
ever of  Colosste,  or  of  any  place  in  its  neighbourhood,  nor 
yet  of  the  messenger  Tychicus  ;  (2)  there  are  variations  in 
the  salutations  sent  in  the  two  epistles,  such  as  we  can 
scarcely  imagine  to  have  been  resorted  to  in  the  interests 
of  forgery  ;  and  (3)  in  Colossians  there  is  no  reference 
whatever  to  Philemon  himself  or  to  the  peculiar  circum- 
stances of  Onesimus  as  a  runaway  slave. 

2.    The  Readers. 

"  To  the  saints  and  faithful  brethren  in  Christ  which  are 
at  Colossae."^  The  Church  at  Colossae  seems  to  have  been 
the  least  important  of  the  Churches  to  which  Paul  is  known 
to  have  written.  The  city  itself  had  at  one  time  been 
populous  and  important,  but  its  prosperity  was  very  much 
reduced  before  the  days  of  the  apostle. '-^  It  lay  on  the 
river  Lycus,  a  tributary  of  the  Maeander  in  the  Phrygian 
part  of  Asia  Minor,  not  many  miles  distant  from  its  more 
prosperous  neighbours,  Laodicea  and  Hierapolis,^  in  "  a 
sombre  and  melancholy  region  "  covered  with  the  traces 

unprofitable  to  thee,  but  now  is  profit-  similarly  honoured  by  Cyrus,  speaks  of 

able  to  thee  and  to  me :  whom  I  have  it  as  "a  populous  city,  prosperous  and 

sent  back  to  thee  in  his  own  person,  that  great." 

is,  my  very  heart :  .   .   .   Epaphras,  my  3  iv.  13  (quoted  p.  167,  end  of  no^e  3). 

fellow- prisoner  in  Christ  Jesus,  saluteth  "  The   Christian   communities    of   this 

thee ;    and    so   do   Mark,  Aristarchus,  district  play  a  conspicuous  part  in  the 

Demas,  Luke,  my  fellow- workers. "  struggles  and  the  development   of  the 

^  i.  2.  Church.     When  after  the  destruction  of 

'-Its    prosperity,   like    that    of   other  Jerusalem  St.  John  fixed  his  abode  at 

towns  in  its  vicinity,  was  chiefly  derived  Ephesus,  it  would  appear  that  not  a  few 

from  the  trade  in  dyed  woollen  goods—  of  the  oldest  surviving  members  of  the 

depending  on  the  rich  pasture  for  flocks  Palestinian    Church   accompanied  him 

afforded  by  the  fertile  land,  and  the  valu-  into  '  Asia, '  which  henceforward  became 

able  properties  of  the  mineral  streams,  the  headquarters  of  Apostolic  authority, 

which  the  inhabitants  knew  how  to  turn  In  this  body  of  emigrants,  Andrew  and 

to   account  for  dyeing   purposes.       Its  Philip  among  the  Twelve,  Aristion  and 

former  greatness  is  attested  by  Herodo-  John   the  presbyter   among  other  per- 

tus,  who  describes  it  as  "a  great  city  of  sonal  disciples  of  the  Lord,  are  especi- 

Phrygia"  at  which  Xerxes  halted  with  ally  mentioned." — Lightfoot   on  Co/os- 

his  immense  army  on  his  way  to  Greece  ;  sians,  p.  45. 
and  Xenophon,   recording   how  it  was 


XV, 


Colossiaiis. 


167 


of  volcanic  action.^  In  common  with  these  cities,  Colossae 
had  doubtless  been  indebted  for  its  knowledge  of  Christ- 
ianity to  the  evangelistic  labours  of  Paul  at  Ephesus,  the 
metropolis  of  the  district,  from  which  his  influence  had 
spread  far  and  wide,  "almost  throughout  all  Asia."- 
Although  we  may  infer  from  his  language  in  the  epistle 
that  Paul  had  not  personally  laboured  among  the  Co- 
lossians,  it  would  seem  that  their  chief  evangelist,  Epaphras, 
had  been  one  of  his  disciples.^ 

This  Epaphras  had  paid  a  visit  to  Rome  during  Paul's 
imprisonment  there.  Whether  he  had  come  for  the 
express  purpose  of  consulting  the  apostle  regarding  the 
state  of  the  Colossians  is  not  clear ;  but  at  all  events  he 
made  Paul  acquainted  with  the  dangers  that  were  beset- 
ting the  Church  notwithstanding  many  tokens  of  grace.  ^ 


^  "  Though  the  exterior  surface  of  the 
earth  shows  no  traces  of  recent  volcanoes, 
still  the  cavernous  nature  of  the  soil  and 
the  hot  springs  and  mephitic  vapours 
abounding  here  indicate  the  presence  of 
those  subterranean  fires  which  from  time 
to  time  have  manifested  themselves  in 
this  work  of  destruction.  ...  If  fire 
has  its  fitful  outbursts  of  devastation, 
water  is  only  less  powerful  in  its  gradual 
work  of  reconstruction.  The  lateral 
streams  which  swell  the  waters  of  the 
Lycus  are  thickly  impregnated  with 
calcareous  matter,  which  they  deposit 
in  their  course.  .  .  .  Ancient  monu- 
ments are  buried,  f-^rtile  lands  overlaid, 
river-beds  choked  up  and  streams  di- 
verted, fantastic  grottoes  and  cascades 
and  archways  of  stone  formed  by  this 
strange  capricious  power,  at  once  de- 
structive and  creative,  working  silently 
and  relentlessly  through  long  ages. 
Fatal  to  vegetation,  these  incrustations 
spread,  like  a  stony  shroud  over  the 
ground.  Gleaming  like  glaciers  on  the 
hill-side,  they  attract  the  eye  of  the 
traveller  at  a  distance  of  twenty  miles, 
and  form  a  singularly  striking  feature 
in  scenery  of  more  than  common  beauty 
and  impressiveness. " — Lightfoot. 

2 Acts  xix.  10,  26:  "And  this  con- 
tinued for  the  space  of  two  years  ;  so 
that  all  they  which  dwelt  in  Asia  heard 
the  word  of  the  Lord,  both  Jews  and 
Greeks. .  .  .  And  ye  see  and  hear,  that  not 
alone  at  Ephesus,  but  almost  throughout 


all  Asia,  this  Paul  hath  persuaded  and 
turned  away  much  people,  saying  that 
they  be  no  gods,  which  are  made  with 
hands."  i  Cor.  xvi.  19  :  "  The  churches 
of  Asia  salute  you." 

^ii.  I :  "  For  I  would  have  you  know 
how  greatly  I  strive  for  you,  and  for  them 
at  Laodicea,  and  for  as  many  as  have  not 
seen  my  face  in  the  flesh. "  i.  3-9  :  ' '  We 
give  thanks  to  God  the  Father  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  praying  always  for 
you,  having  heard  of  your  faith  in  Christ 
Jesus,  and  of  the  love  which  ye  have  to- 
ward all  the  saints,  because  of  the  hope 
which  is  laid  up  for  you  in  the  heavens, 
whereof  ye  heard  before  in  the  word  of 
the  truth  of  the  gospel,  which  is  come 
unto  you  ;  even  as  it  is  also  in  all  the 
world  bearing  fruit  and  increasing,  as 
it  doth  in  you  also,  since  the  day  ye 
heard  and  knew  the  grace  of  God  in 
truth  ;  even  as  ye  learned  of  Epaphras 
our  beloved  fellow-servant,  who  is  a 
faithful  minister  of  Christ  on  our  behalf, 
who  also  declared  unto  us  your  love  in 
the  Spirit.  For  this  cause  we  also,  since 
the  day  we  heard  it,  do  not  cease  to  pray 
and  make  request  for  you,  that  ye  may 
be  filled  with  the  knowledge  of  his  will  in 
all  spiritual  wisdom  and  understanding." 
Like  Epaphras,  Philemon  ( ' '  our  beloved 
and  fellow-worker,"  p.  173)  was  no  doubt 
another  of  his  active  missionary  con- 
verts ;  so,  apparently,  was  Nymphas  of 
Laodicea  (iv.  15,  quoted  p.  165,  note  2,)- 
•*  i.3-8 (quoted above);  ii.  8-10:  "Take 


i68 


N'cw  Testament  and  Its  Writers. 


XV. 


The  interest  in  Colossse  which  was  thus  awakened  in  the 
mind  of  the  apostle  by  his  conversation  with  Epaphras  was 
further  stimulated  by  his  intercourse  with  Onesimus,  a  run- 
away slave  from  the  same  city,  who  was  in  some  way 
or  other  brought  under  his  influence  at  Rome,  and  proved 
an  invaluable  friend.^  He  could  not  permanently  retain 
Onesimus  in  his  service,  as  he  was  the  lawful  property  of 
another;  so  he  took  the  opportunity  afforded  by  the  mission 
of  Tychicus  (a  trusty  delegate)  to  Asia  to  send  Onesimus 
along  with  him,  giving  the  latter  a  conciliatory  letter  to 
his  master  Philemon,  and  at  the  same  time  he  addresses 
a  longer  communication  to  the  members  of  the  Colossian 
Church,  with  special  reference  to  the  evils  to  which  they 
were  exposed.-  This  he  intrusts  to  the  care  of  Tychicus, 
by  whom  he  also  despatches  another  epistle  intended  for  a 
still  wider  circle  of  readers/' 


heed  lest  there  shall  be  any  one  that 
maketh  spoil  of  you  through  his 
philosophy  and  vain  deceit,  after  the 
tradition  of  men,  after  the  rudiments  of 
the  world,  and  not  after  Christ:  for  in 
him  dwelleth  all  the  fulness  of  the  God- 
head bodily,  and  in  him  ye  are  made  full, 
who  is  the  head  of  all  principality  and 
power.  .  .  .  16-23 :  Let  no  man  there- 
fore judge  you  in  meat,  or  in  drink,  or  in 
respect  of  a  feast  day  or  a  new  moon  or 
a  sabbath  day  :  which  are  a  shadow  of 
the  things  to  come  ;  but  the  body  is 
Christ's.  Let  no  man  rob  you  of  your 
prize  by  a  voluntary  humility  and 
worshipping  of  the  angels,  dwelling  in 
the  things  which  he  hath  seen,  vainly 
puffed  up  by  his  fleshly  mind,  and  not 
liolding  fast  the  Head,  from  whom  all 
the  body,  being  supplied  and  knit  to- 
gether through  the  joints  and  bands, 
increaseth  with  the  increase  of  God.  If 
ye  died  with  Christ  from  the  rudiments 
of  the  world,  why,  as  though  living  in 
the  world,  do  ye  subject  yourselves  to 
ordinances,  Handle  not,  nor  taste,  nor 
touch  (all  which  things  are  to  perish  with 
the  using),  after  the  precepts  and 
doctrines  of  men  ?  Which  things  have 
indeed  a  show  of  wisdom  in  will-worship, 
and  humility,  and  severity  to  the  body  ; 
but  are  not  of  any  value  against  the  in- 
dulgence  of    the   flesh."      iv.    12,    13  : 


"  Epaphras,  who  is  one  of  you,  a  ser- 
vant of  Christ  Jesus,  saluteth  you,  al- 
ways striving  for  you  in  his  prayers,  that 
ye  may  stand  perfect  and  fully  assured 
in  all  the  will  of  God.  For  I  bear  him 
witness,  that  he  hath  much  labour  for 
you,  and  for  them  in  Laodicea,  and  for 
them  in  Hierapolis." 

1  iv.  9 :  "Onesimus,  the  faithful  and 
beloved  brother,  who  is  one  of  you." 
Cf.  Philemon. 

2  iv.  7-9  :  "  All  my  affairs  shall 
Tychicus  make  known  unto  you,  the 
beloved  brother  and  faithful  minister 
and  fellow-servant  in  the  Lord  :  whom 
I  have  sent  unto  you  for  this  very  pur- 
pose, that  ye  may  know  our  estate, 
and  that  he  may  comfort  your  hearts  ; 
together  with  Onesimus,  the  faithful  and 
beloved  brother,  who  is  one  of  you. 
They  shall  make  known  unto  you  all 
things  that  are  done  here. "  Acts  xx.  4  : 
"And  there  accompanied  him  as  far  as 
Asia  Sopater  of  I3eroea,  the  son  of 
Pyrrhus  ;  and  of  the  Thessalonians, 
Aristarchus  and  Secundus  ;  and  Gaius 
of  Derbe,  and  Timothy  ;  and  of  Asia, 
Tychicus  and  Trophimus."  Cf.  2  Tim. 
V.  12  :  "  But  Tychicus  I  sent  to  Ephe- 
sus."  Titus  iii.  12:  "When  I  shall 
send  Artemas  unto  thee,  or  Tychicus." 
Cf.  pp.  174-5. 

3  Eph.  vi.  21,  22:   "But  that  ye  also 


XV.  Colossians.  1 69 

3.   Date  and  Place  of  Coinposition. 
At  Rome,  62-63  A.D.  (pp.  151-5). 


4.   Character  and  Contents. 

It  has  been  remarked  that  this  epistle  lacks  the  vivacity 
and  fluency  which  characterise  the  apostle's  style  when  he 
is  addressing  readers  personally  known  to  him. 

To  the  ordinary  reader  it  is  probably  the  most  difficult 
of  Paul's  epistles,  owing  to  the  fact  that  it  was  designed  to 
be  a  corrective  of  certain  errors  of  a  recondite  nature  with 
which  we  have  little  or  nothing  to  do  at  the  present  day. 
For  these  errors  the  Jewish  element  of  the  population, 
which  prevailed  so  largely  in  that  part  of  the  world,  was 
largely  responsible.^  It  was  not  the  Pharisees,  however, 
whose  endeavours,  at  an  earlier  period,  to  foist  the  cere- 
monial law  of  the  Jews  on  the  Christian  Church  had  been 
so  strenuously  and  successfully  resisted  by  the  apostle  of 
the  Gentiles,  but  the  Essencs,  another  sect  of  the  Jews,  that 
were  now  the  corrupters  of  the  faith.  Their  pretentions 
were  of  a  more  abstruse  and  philosophic  character,  savour- 
ing of  combined  mysticism  and  asceticism  ;  and  along  with 
their  teaching  was  mingled  the  theosophy  of  Asia  Minor, 

may     know     my    affairs,    how    I    do,  sian  Church  may  be  traced   in   ii.    ii  : 

Tychicus,  the  beloved  brother  and  faith-  "in   whom   ye   were    also   circumcised 

ful   minister   in    the  Lord,  shall    make  with    a    circumcision    not    made   with 

known  to  you  all  things  :  whom  I  have  hands,  in  the  putting  off  of  the  body  of 

sent  unto  you  for  this  very  purpose,  that  the  flesh,  in  the  circumcision  of  Christ  "  ; 

ye  may  know  our  state,  and  that  he  may  ii.   14:    "having  blotted  out  the  bond 

comfort  your  hearts."  written  in  ordinances  that  was  against 

1  Two  thousand  Jewish  families  were  us,  which  was  contrary  to  us  :  and  he 

brougln  by  Antiochus  the  Great  from  hath  taken  it  out  of  the  way,  nailing  it 

Babylonia  and  Macedonia,  and  settled  in  to  the  cross";    ii.    16:   "Let  no   man 

Lydia  and  Phrygia.     We  have  evidence  therefore  judge  you  in  meat,  or  in  drink, 

of  their  numbers  and  wealth  at  a  later  or  in  respect  of  a  feast  day  or  a  new 

period  in  the  large  quantity  of  gold  that  moon  or  a  sabbath  day."     The  worship 

was  confiscated  by  the  Roman  governor  of  angels  (p.    170,  wy/f  2)  was  also  the 

on  its  way  to  Jerusalem  in  payment  of  perversion  of  a  Jewish  doctrine  ;    Acts 

the   poll-tax.      We   also    find    Phrygia  vii.  53  :   "  Ye  who  received  the  law  as  it 

mentioned  (Acts  ii.    10)  as  one  of  the  was  ordained  by  angels,  and  kept  it  not." 

countries  from  which  devout  men  were  Gal.   iii.    19:  The  law   "was  ordained 

present  at  Jerusalem  on  the  great  day  of  through    angels    by    the    hands    of    a 

Pentecost.    Their  influence  in  the  Colos-  mediator." 


170 


Neiu  Tcstainent  and  Its  Writers. 


XV. 


resulting  in  the  strange  form  of  heresy  which  we  find  the 
apostle  combating  in  this  epistle. 

The  heresy  was  partly  speculative,  partly  practical,  but 
at  the  root  of  the  whole  there  lay  an  abhorrence  of  matter 
as  the  abode  of  evil,  and  a  consequent  depreciation  of 
everything  connected  with  man's  physical  existence. 
This  led,  on  its  speculative  side,  to  an  elaborate  system 
of  mediation  between  the  Supreme  Being  and  the  world  of 
matter,  by  means  of  a  spiritual  hierarchy  consisting  of  a 
graduated  series  of  emanations  from  the  deity,  the  lowest 
of  which  was  supposed  to  have  been  far  enough  removed 
from  the  Supreme  Being  to  be  capable  of  bringing  into 
existence  the  base  material  world.  In  opposition  to  this 
theory  the  apostle  insists  upon  the  absolute  and  universal 
mediatorsJnp  of  Christ — in  the  outward  universe  created 
through  Him  as  well  as  in  the  Church  of  which  He  is  the 
Head,^  and  warns  his  converts  against  being  led  astray  by 
a  false  philosophy,  associated  with  the  worship  of  angels, 
which  some  of  their  teachers  were  trying  to  introduce  into 
the  Church.- 


1  i.  15-20  :  "  Who  is  the  image  of  the 
invisible  God,  the  firstborn  of  all  crea- 
tion ;  for  in  him  were  all  things  created, 
in  the  heavens  and  upon  the  earth,  things 
visible  and  things  invisible,  whether 
thrones  or  dominions  or  principalities  or 
powers ;  all  things  have  been  created 
through  him,  and  unto  him  ;  and  he  is 
before  all  things,  and  in  him  all  things 
consist.  And  he  is  the  head  of  the 
body,  the  church  :  who  is  the  beginning, 
the  firstborn  from  the  dead  ;  that  in  all 
things  he  might  have  the  pre-eminence. 
f'or  it  was  the  good  pleasure  of  the 
Father  that  in  him  should  all  the  fulness 
dwell ;  and  through  him  to  reconcile  all 
things  unto  himself,  having  made  peace 
through  the  blood  of  his  cross  ;  through 
him,  I  say,  whether  things  upon  the 
earth,  or  things  in  the  heavens. "  ii.  14, 
15:  "Having  blotted  out  the  bond 
written  in  ordinances  that  was  against 
us,  which  was  contrary  to  us  :  and  he 
hath  taken  it  out  of  the  way,  nailing  it 
to  the  cross  ;  having  put  off  from  him- 
self the  principalities  and  the  powers,  he 
made  a  show  of  them  openly,  triumph- 
ing over  them  in  it. "  Cf.'R.om.w'm.  38, 
39:   "For  I  am  persuaded,  that  neither 


death,  nor  life,  nor  angels,  nor  princi- 
palities, nor  things  present,  nor  things 
to  come,  nor  powers,  nor  height,  nor 
depth,  nor  any  other  creature,  shall  be 
able  to  separate  us  from  the  love  of  God, 
which  is  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord." 

-  ii.  8:  "Take  heed  lest  there  shall 
be  any  one  that  maketh  spoil  of  you 
through  his  philosophy  and  vain  deceit, 
after  the  tradition  of  men,  after  the  rudi- 
ments of  the  world,  and  not  after  Christ." 
ii.  18,  19  :  "  Let  no  man  rob  you  of  your 
prize  by  a  voluntary  humility  and  wor- 
shipping of  the  angels,  dwelling  in  the 
things  which  he  hath  seen,  vainly  puffed 
up  by  his  fleshly  mind,  and  not  holding 
fast  the  Head,  from  whom  all  the  body, 
being  supplied  and  knit  together  through 
the  joints  and  bands,  increaseth  with  the 
increase  of  God."  In  this  connection  it 
is  interesting  to  find  that  angel-worship 
was  condemned  at  a  council  held  at  the 
neighbouring  city  of  Laodicea  in  the 
fourth  century,  and  that  there  is  a  Greek 
story  to  the  effect  that  the  archangel 
Michael  once  saved  Colossal  from  de- 
struction by  opening  a  chasm  for  the 
escape  of  waters  with  which  it  was 
inundated.     The    worship    of    angels, 


XV.  Co/ossmiis.  1 7 1 

On  its  practical  side  the  error  took  the  form  of  a 
rigorous  asceticism,  intended  to  free  man's  spirit  from  the 
degrading  influence  of  the  world  and  the  flesh. ^  To 
counteract  this  tendency,  the  apostle  proclaims  the  inspir- 
ing and  life-giving  power  of  fellowship  with  Jesus  Christ, 
by  whose  death  upon  the  cross  reconciliation  has  been 
effected  between  heaven  and  earth,  and  in  whom  "  dwelleth 
all  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead  bodily."  ^  The  spirit  of 
Christ  ought  to  raise  Christians  above  the  mere  elements 
or  "  rudiments "  of  the  world, '^  imparting  to  them  new 
motives  and  a  higher  consciousness  ;  and  the  apostle  calls 
upon  his  readers  to  consecrate  to  God,  in  fellowship  with 
the  risen  Saviour,  all  departments  of  their  life,  whether  as 
individual  Christians  or  in  their  mutual  relations  as  husbands 
and  wives,  parents  and  children,  masters  and  servants.^ 

While  the  speculative  and  practical  aspects  of  the 
subject  are  not  kept  entirely  distinct,  the  former  is  chiefly 
dealt  with  in  the  first  chapter,  after  the  opening  salutation, 
thanksgiving,  and  prayer;  while  the  second  chapter  is  more 
polemical  in  tone,  and  forms  an  introduction  to  the  practi- 
cal exhortations  which  occupy  the  third  and  part  of  the 
fourth  or  last  chapter.      The  remainder  of  the  epistle  is 

especially  of  Michael,  was  common  in  lions  of  the  Deity.     Other  Gnostic  terms 

Asia  Minor.     (See  Prof.  Ramsay's  The  are  found  in  i.  i6,  "whether  thrones  or 

Church   in  the  Roman  Empire,   Chap.  dominions  or  principalities  or  powers  " 

xi.x.)     In  the  epistle   "to  the  angel  of  (elVe  dpovoL,  eire  KvpioT-qres,  e'lre  dpxai, 

the  church  in  Laodicea,"  in  the  Book  of  ehe  e^ova-lai),    cf.    Eph.    i.   21.     These 

Revelation,  we  can  trace  features  of  re-  and  such-like  traces  of  Gnosticism  have 

semblance   to   this   epistle   both  on  its  led  Baur,  and  after  him  Hilgenfuld,  to 

speculative  and  its   practical  side.     Cf.  pronounce  this  epistle  the  work  of  a  later 

Col.  i.  15-20  and  Rev.  iii.  14:   "These  age.     But  although  we  cannot  make  out 

things  saith  the  Amen,  the  faithful  and  the  exact  features  of  Gnosticism  till  the 

true  witness,  the  beginning  of  the  crea-  second  century,  we  have  ample  evidence 

tion  of  God  "  ;  Col.  iii.  1-4  and  Rev.  iii.  in  the  writings  of  Philo  (a  contemporary 

21:   "  He  that  overcometh,  I  will  give  of  St.  Paul)  as  well  as  in  some  of  the  Old 

to   him    to   sit   down    with   me   in    my  Testament  Apocryphal  books,  that  the 

throne,    as    I   also  overcame,    and    sat  tendencies  of  thought  which  afterwards 

down  with  my  Father  in  his  throne."  resulted  in  Gnosticism  as  a  full-blown 

1  ii.   16-23  (quoted  in  note  ^„  p.  167).  theological  system  were  in  active  opera- 

2  The  words  here  translated  ' '  the  ful-  tion  even  before  the  time  of  the  apostles, 
ness"  (to  TrXTjpuj/ua)  which  also  occurs  They  were  characteristic  of  an  age  of 
at  i.  19,  and  three  times  in  the  cognate  mingled  scepticism  and  superstition,  of 
epistle  to  the  Ephesians  (i.  23 ;  iii.  19  ;  wide  eclecticism  and  bold  amalgama- 
iv.  13),  became  a  favourite  word  with  the  tion. 

Gnostics  of  the  second  century  to  denote  ■'  ii.  8,  20  (quoted  p.  168). 

the  totality  of  the  divine  attributes  mani-  ■*  iii.  i — iv.6. 

fested  more  or  less  in  the  various  emana- 


1/2  New  Testament  and  Its  Writers.  xv. 

made  up   of  salutations   and    personal    explanations  and 
directions.^ 

In  several  passages  a  reference  may  be  traced  to  the 
mtellcctual  pride  and  exdusiveness  which  were  associated 
with  the  errors  of  the  Colossian  Church.  Among  its 
Jewish  members,  the  pride  of  intellect  was  taking  the 
place  of  the  old  pride  of  nationality.  In  opposition  to 
this  tendency  the  apostle  declares  that  "■  i)i  Clirist'' — not 
in  any  philosophy  which  man  could  devise — "are  all  the 
treasures  of  wisdom  and  knozvtedge  /liddeu."'^-  He  prays 
that  they  "  may  be  filled  with  the  knowledge  of  his  will 
in  all  spiritual  wisdom  and  understanding."^  He  repre- 
sents the  Gospel  as  a  "  mystery "  that  has  been  "  mani- 
fested "  to  the  whole  Church  —  his  duty  as  an  apostle 
being  to  proclaim  Christ,  "admonishing  evety  man,  and 
teaching  evejy  man  in  all  wisdom  ;  that  (he)  may  present 
every  man  perfect  in  Christ'"^  He  thus  declares  the 
Church  to  be  a  spiritual  democracy  in  which  there  is  no 
room  for  any  privileged  class  or  inner  circle  of  disciples 
— even  the  Scythians,  the  least  refined  of  nations,  being 
raised  to  the  same  level,  in  a  spiritual  sense,  as  the  Jews 
themselves,  or  the  most  cultivated  of  the  Gentiles.'' 


"THE   EPISTLE   OF   PAUL   TO   PHILEMON." 

I.   Authorship. 

This  epistle  is  thoroughly  Pauline  ;  and  its  contents  are 
oi  loo  private  and  (from  a  doctrinal  and  ecclesiastical  point 
of  view)  too  insignificant  a  nature,  to  have  ever  been  ad- 
mitted into  the  Canon  if  it  had  not  been  a  genuine 
writing  of  Paul's.*^ 

1  iv.  7-18.  c  "  It  was  preserved  in  the  family  to 

-  ii.  3-  which  it  was  addressed,  and  read  first, 

^  i.  9-  no    doubt,    as    a    precious    apostohc 

■*  i.  25-28  ;  ii.  2,  3.  message  of  love  and   blessing,   in  the 

"'' iii.   11:    "Where  there  cannot   be  church  which  assembled  in  Philemon's 

Greek  and  Jew,  circumcision  and  un-  house.      Then     copies     of    it    became 

circumcision,       barbarian,      Scythian,  multiplied,  and  from  Colossne  it  spread 

bondman,  freeman:  but  Christ  is  all,  through   the   church   universal.      It   is 

and  in  all."  quoted  as  early  as  the  second  century. 


XV.  Philemon.  173 

Its  close  connection  with  Colossians  has  already  been 
referred  to.^  The  circumstances  under  which  it  reached 
Philemon,  and  even  the  latter's  place  of  residence,  would 
be  shrouded  in  mystery  if  it  were  not  for  Colossians.  Yet 
no  hint  is  given  there  of  the  episode  in  Paul's  life  which 
gave  rise  to  this  epistle  —  the  only  thing  relating  to  it 
being  an  allusion  to  Onesimus  as  "the  faithful  and 
beloved  brother  who  is  one  of  you."^  So  independent 
are  the  two  epistles  in  their  contents. 

2.    The  Reader. 

"  To  Philemon  our  beloved,  and  fellow-worker."  ^ 
To  ascertain  Philemon's  residence  we  have,  as  already 
remarked,  to  consult  the  epistle  to  the  Colossians.  Phile- 
mon himself  is  not  mentioned  there ;  but  Archippus 
whom  Paul  associates  with  Philemon  and  Apphia  (pro- 
bably Philemon's  wife)  in  the  opening  greeting  of  this 
epistle,'^  is  mentioned  in  Colossians  in  such  a  way  as  to 
imply  that  he  was  an  office-bearer  of  the  Church  either  at 
Colossai  or  in  the  neighbourhood.^  From  the  context  it 
has  been  suggested  that  Laodicea,  which  was  about  twelve 
miles  from  Colossae,  was  the  scene  of  Archippus'  labours. 
The  association  of  his  name  with  that  of  Philemon,  in  the 
epistle  addressed  to  the  latter,  would  lead  us  to  suppose 
that  he  was  Philemon's  son,  or  possibly  his  minister.  The 
connection  of  Philemon  with  Colossae  is  further  evident 
from  the  fact  that  his  slave  Onesimus  is  spoken  of  in  the 
epistle  to  the  Colossians  as  "one  of  you,"  and  is  announced 


and  has  ever,  except  with  some  few  who  3  Ver.  i. 

question  everything,   remained   an  un-  *  Vers,  i,  2. 

doubted  portion  of  the  writings  of  St.  ^  (JqI.  iv.  15-17:  "Salute  the  brethren 

Paul"  (Alford,  Hmo  to  Study  the  A'ew  that  are  in   Laodicea,  and    Nymphas, 

Testament).    Even  Marcion,  with  all  his  and  the  church  that  is  in  their  house, 

excisive  tendencies,  admitted  its  genuine-  And  when  this  epistle  hath   been  read 

ness.     It  was  first  called  in  question  in  among  you,  cause  that  it  be  read  also 

the  fourth  century,  on  the  ground  that  in  the  church  of  the  Laodiceans  ;  and 

its  matter  and  contents  were  beneath  that  ye  also  read  the  epistle  from  Laodi- 

the  dignity  of  apostohc  authorship  !  cea.     And  say  to  Archippus,  Take  heed 

1  Pp.  165-6.  to  the  ministry  which  thou  hast  received 

2  Col.  iv.  9.  in  the  Lord,  that  thou  fulfil  it." 


174 


New  Testavient  and  Its  Writers. 


XV. 


as  a  visitor  to  Colossae  at  the  same  time  as  he  is  restored 
to  his  master.^ 

We  gather  from  the  epistle  that  Philemon  had  been  con- 
verted to  Christianity  through  the  instrumentality  of  the 
apostle,^  and  had  since  then  earned  a  reputation  for  charity 
and  devotion,  his  house  being  one  of  the  meeting-places  of 
the  Church."^  It  was  owing  to  special  circumstances,  how- 
ever, that  he  had  the  distinction  of  having  an  apostolic 
letter  addressed  to  him.  A  slave  of  his,  Onesimus  by 
name/  had  absconded  (like  many  another  Phrygian  slave) 
and  made  his  way  to  Rome,  the  great  resort  of  needy 
adventurers,  apparently  wuth  the  aid  of  money  stolen  from 
his  master.'  There  he  was  providentially  brought  under 
the  influence  of  Paul,  and  became  a  confirmed  Christian, 
endearing  himself  to  the  apostle  by  his  grateful  and  devoted 
services   in   the   Gospel.*"      As   Onesimus    was   Philemon's 


1  Col.  iv.  9  (quoted  p.  i68,  note  2) ; 
Philemon  ver.  12  :  "  whom  I  have  sent 
back  unto  thee  in  his  own  person." 

2  Ver.  19  :  "that  I  say  not  unto  thee 
how  that  thou  owest  to  me  even  thine 
own  self  besides."  His  conversion  was 
probably  a  result  of  Paul's  labours  in 
Ephesus  about  six  or  seven  years  before. 
(See  p.  167.) 

3  Ver.  2:  "to  the  church  in  thy 
house."  Vers.  4-7  :  "I  thank  my  God 
always,  making  mention  of  thee  in  my 
prayers,  hearing  of  thy  love,  and  of  the 
faith  which  thou  hast  toward  the  Lord 
Jesus,  and  toward  all  the  saints  ;  .  .  . 
For  I  had  much  joy  and  comfort  in  thy 
love,  because  the  hearts  of  the  saints 
have  been  refreshed  through  thee, 
brother."  The  practice  of  meeting  for 
worship  in  private  houses  was  quite 
common  a  hundred  years  later.  To 
the  question  of  the  heathen  prefect : 
"Where  do  you  assemble?"  Justin 
Martyr  answered,  "Where  each  one 
can  and  will.  You  believe,  no  doubt, 
that  we  all  meet  together  in  one  place  ; 
but  it  is  not  so,  for  the  God  of  the 
Christians  is  not  shut  up  in  a  room, 
but  He  fills  heaven  and  earth,  and  is 
honoured  everywhere  by  the  faithful." 
Justin  adds  that  his  own  house  was 
ordinarily  used  for  Christian  meetings. 
"There  is  no  clear  e.xample  of  a  separate 
building  set  apart  for  Christian  worship 
within  the  limits  of  the  Roman  empire 


before  the  third  century,  though  apart- 
ments in  private  houses  might  be  speci- 
ally devoted  to  this  purpose."  Cf.  Rom. 
xvi.  5  :  "  Salute  the  church  that  is  in 
their  house"  (i.e.  of  Prisca  and  Aquila) ; 
I  Cor.  xvi.  19:  "Aquila  and  Prisca 
salute  you  much  in  the  Lord,  with  the 
church  that  is  in  their  house"  ;  Col.  iv. 
15:  "Salute  the  brethren  that  are  in 
Laodicea,  and  Nymphas,  and  the 
church  that  is  in  their  house." 

■1  A  very  common  name  for  slaves,  as 
inscriptions  show.  In  the  beginning  of 
the  second  century,  however,  we  find  a 
bishop  of  Ephesus  bearing  the  name — a 
tribute,  perhaps,  to  the  memory  of  the 
friend  for  whom  Paul  wrote  this  epistle. 

5  Vers.  18, 19:  "  But  if  he  hath  wronged 
thee  at  all,  or  oweth  thee  aught,  put  that 
to  mine  account ;  I  Paul  write  it  with 
mine  own  hand,  I  will  repay  it." 

6  Vers.  10-13  •  ''I  beseech  thee  for 
my  child,  whom  I  have  begotten  in  my 
bonds,  Onesimus,  who  was  aforetime 
unprofitable  to  thee,  but  now  is  profit- 
able to  thee  and  to  me :  whom  I  have 
sent  back  to  thee  in  his  own  person, 
that  is,  my  very  heart :  whom  I  would 
fain  have  kept  with  me,  that  in  thy 
behalf  he  might  minister  unto  me  in  the 
bonds  of  the  gospel."  Many  slaves 
were  clever  and  versatile  men  who 
would  prove  valuable  converts  if 
thoroughly  consecrated  ;  and  such  a 
man  Onesimus  seems  to  have  been. 


XV. 


Philemon. 


^75 


lawful  slave,  Paul  could  not  think  of  retaining  him  per- 
manently in  his  service,  so  he  took  the  opportunity  afforded 
by  Tychicus'  return  to  Asia  to  send  him  back  to  his  master.^ 
In  doing  so  he  gave  him  this  letter  to  Philemon  with  the 
view  of  winning  for  him  a  merciful  reception,  and  to  save 
him  from  the  severe  and  cruel  punishment  wdiich  was  per- 
mitted by  the  Roman  law — even  to  the  extent  of  death 
— in  such  cases.- 


3.   Date  and  Place  of  Composition. 
At  Rom.e,  62-63  A.D.  (see  pp.  15 1-5). 

4.    Character  and.  Contents. 

This  is  the  only  letter  of  St.  Paul  addressed  to  a  friend 
on  a  matter  of  private  business  that  has  come  down  to  us, 
although  we  cannot  doubt  that  many  others  were  written 
by  him  which  have  not  been  preserved.  On  all  sides  it 
has  received  the  warmest  praise  and  admiration — not  on 
account  of  its  language,  which  has  nothing  particular  to 
recommend   it,  but  for  its  tact,  delicacy,  a7id  good  feeling? 


1  Vers.  12,  13  (quoted  above) ;  Col. 
iv.  7-9  (quoted  p.  i68,  note  2). 

^  "The  slave  was  absolutely  at  his 
master's  disposal  ;  for  the  smallest 
offence  he  might  be  scourged,  muti- 
lated, crucified,  thrown  to  the  wild 
beasts."  Aristotle  calls  a  slave  "a  living 
chattel,"  "a  living  implement,"  (KTTJ/jid 
Ti  ^fj-ipuxov,  '^ixipvxov  opyavov). 

'■>  Luther  said  of  it:  "This  epistle 
showeth  a  right  noble  lovely  example 
of  Christian  love.  Here  we  see  how  St. 
Paul  layeth  himself  out  for  poor  One- 
sinms,  and  with  all  his  means  pleadeth 
his  cause  with  his  master  ;  and  so  setteth 
himself  as  if  he  were  Onesimus,  and  had 
himself  done  wrong  to  Philemon.  Even 
as  Christ  did  for  us  with  God  the  Father, 
thus  also  doth  St.  Paul  for  Onesimus 
with  Philemon.  .  .  .  We  are  all  his 
Onesimi  to  my  thinking."  "Though 
he  handlcth  a  subject,"  said  Calvin, 
"which  otherwise  were  low  and  mean, 
yet  after  his  manner  he  is  borne  up 
aloft  unto  God.  With  such  modest 
entreaty  doth  he  humble  himself  on 
behalf  of  the  lowest  of  men,  that  scarce 


anywhere  else  is  the  gentleness  of  his 
spirit  portrayed  more  truly  to  the 
life."  Renan  calls  it  "a  true  little 
masterpiece  of  the  art  of  letter-writing  "; 
and  Sabatier  says  of  it  that  "  it  gleams 
like  a  pearl  of  the  most  exquisite  purity 
in  the  rich  treasure  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment." It  has  often  been  compared 
with  the  letter  of  the  younger  Pliny  to 
his  friend  Sabinianus,  interceding  for  a 
freedman  who  had  offended  him  ;  but 
the  apostolic  letter,  although  inferior  in 
literary  style,  is  based  on  far  broader 
principles,  and  appeals  to  far  higher 
motives,  than  the  good-hearted  persua- 
sions of  the  cultivated  Roman.  For  ex- 
ample, the  following  expressions,  which 
occur  in  the  latter,  would  be  unworthy 
of  a  place  in  our  epistle  :  "  You  may  be 
angry  again  if  he  deserves  it ;  and  in 
this  you  will  be  the  more  readily  par- 
doned if  you  yield  now.  .  .  .  Do  not 
torture  him  lest  you  torture  yourself  at 
the  same  time.  For  it  is  torture  to  you, 
when  one  of  your  gentle  temper  is 
angry." 


176 


Neiu  Testament  and  Its  Writers. 


XV. 


While  the  apostle  puts  the  case  very  strongly  in  favour  of 
Onesimus — so  strongly  that  it  has  been  finely  said,  "the 
word  emancipation  seems  trembling  on  his  lips,"  —  he 
refrains  from  any  interference  with  Philemon's  civil  rights, 
seeking  only  to  awaken  within  him  such  feelings  of 
humanity  and  kindness  as  will  be  a  safeguard  against 
harsh  and  unbrotherly  conduct.^  In  this  respect  the 
epistle  affords  a  good  illustration  of  the  remedial  and 
reforming  influence  of  the  Gospel,  which  seeks  to  gain  its 
ends  from  within  and  not  from  without,  by  persuasion 
rather  than  by  compulsion.- 

It  has  been  described  as  the  letter  of  a  Christian 
gentleman,  animated  by  strong  Christian  feeling,  tempered 
with  discretion,  and  expressed   with  dignity  and   modera- 


1  Vers:  14-17.  "  but  without  thy 
mind  I  would  do  nothing ;  that  thy 
goodness  should  not  be  as  of  necessity, 
but  of  free  will.  For  perhaps  he  was 
therefore  parted  from  thee  for  a  season, 
that  thou  shouldest  have  him  for  ever  ; 
no  longer  as  a  servant,  but  more  than  a 
servant,  a  brother  beloved,  specially  to 
me,  but  how  much  rather  to  thee,  both 
in  the  flesh  and  in  the  Lord.  If  then 
thou  countest  me  a  partner,  receive  him 
as  myself."  Vers.  20,  21:  "  Yea,  brother, 
let  me  have  joy  of  thee  in  the  Lord  : 
refresh  my  heart  in  Christ.  Having 
confidence  in  thine  obedience  I  write 
unto  thee,  knowing  that  thou  wilt  do 
even  beyond  what  I  say." 

-  While  asserting  the  equality  of  all 
men,  in  a  moral  and  spiritual  sense,  in 
the  sight  of  God,  the  apostle  recognised 
slavery  as  an  existing  institution,  which 
must  be  submitted  to  by  those  who  could 
not  legally  obtain  their  freedom,  and 
exhorted  slaves  to  be  obedient  to  their 
''  masters  according  to  the  flesh  "  (i  Cor. 
vii.  21-24;  Eph.  vi.  5-9;  Col.  iii.22 — iv.  i). 
The  slave  system  was  so  long  established, 
and  so  widespread  (the  number  of  slaves 
in  many  cities  far  exceeding  that  of  the 
freemen),  that  for  the  apostles  to  have 
set  themselves  in  direct  opposition  to 
the  law,  by  preaching  emancipation  as 
an  essential  part  of  the  gospel,  would 
have  been  to  rouse  against  them  the 
hostility  of  the  governing  and  educated 
classes,  and  might  have  led  to  a  servile 
war,  which  would  have  cost  thousands 
of  lives,  and  would  probably  only  have 


fastened  their  chains  more  securely  on 
the  necks  of  the  victims.  But  by  teach- 
ing the  universal  brotherhood  of  men  in 
Jesus  Christ,  and  admitting  all  alike  to 
full  communion  in  the  Church,  the 
apostles  brought  an  influence  to  bear 
upon  society  which  could  not  fail  in 
course  of  time  to  lead  to  the  abolition 
of  slavery,  and  which  very  soon  led  to 
voluntary  efforts  on  the  part  of  congre- 
gations to  purchase  the  freedom  of  their 
slave-members,  as  well  as  to  a  change 
of  social  sentiment  with  regard  to  those 
who  remained  in  that  condition. 
' '  Among  the  heroes  and  heroines  of 
the  Church,  were  found  not  a  few 
members  of  this  class.  When  slave- 
girls,  like  Blandina  in  Gaul,  or  Felicitas 
in  Africa,  having  won  for  themselves 
the  crown  of  martyrdom,  were  cele- 
brated in  the  festivals  of  the  Church 
with  honours  denied  to  the  most  power- 
ful and  noblest  born  of  mankind,  social 
prejudice  had  received  a  wound  which 
could  never  be  healed  "  (Lightfoot). 
In  the  measures  passed  by  Constantine, 
the  first  Christian  Emperor,  for 
ameliorating  the  condition  of  slaves, 
we  have  the  initiation  of  a  movement 
which  was  to  culminate  in  the  nine- 
teenth century,  in  the  abolition  of 
slavery  throughout  the  British  Empire, 
the  liberation  of  twenty  millions  of  serfs 
by  the  Emperor  of  Russia,  the  emanci- 
pation of  the  negro  in  the  United  States 
of  America,  and  the  final  effort  to  heal 
"the  open  sore  of  the  world  "  in  the 
dark  continent  of  Africa. 


XV. 


PJiileinon. 


177 


tion  not  untouched  with  humour.^  The  whole  tone  and 
structure  of  the  letter  was  well  fitted  to  bring  out  the 
better  nature  of  Philemon  ;  and  it  was  doubtless  to 
strengthen  the  appeal — by  making  Philemon  realise  that 
the  eyes  of  his  fellow-Christians  were  upon  him — that 
Paul  associates  Timothy  with  himself  in  his  opening 
greeting,  which  is  addressed  not  to  Philemon  alone,  but 
also  to  other  Christian  members  of  his  household,  and 
to  the  congregation  meeting  for  worship  in  his  house ;  ^ 
and  he  sends  salutations  from  several  others  whose  names 
are  given  at  the  close.^  He  even  throws  out  a  hint 
that  it  may  not  be  long  before  he  visits  Philemon  in 
person,* 


1  In  ver.  11  there  is  a  play  on 
the  name  ''Onesimus,"  which  in  the 
original  ('Oy^crtyiios)  means  "  profit- 
able" ;  and  also  in  ver.  20,  ovaip.-r]v  (onai- 
men),  "let  me  have  help  of  thee." 
Perhaps  there  is  a  similar  play  of 
Vi'ords  in  &-)(^p7]crTov  (achreston  =  unprofit- 
able), and  (uxprjcTTov  (euchreston  =  pro- 
fitable) of  ver.  II  with  reference  to  the 
word  'KpKTTos  (Christos).  Farrar  calls 
attention  to  an  interesting  parallel  in 
the  language  of  an  English  preacher 
(Whitfield)  when  appealing  to  the 
comedian  Shuter,  who  had  often  played 
the  character  of  Ramble.  "  And  thou, 
poor     Ramble,     who     hast     so     often 


rambled     from     Him,     oh,    end     thy 
ramblings  and  come  to  Jesus." 

2  Vers.  I,  2:  "Paul,  a  prisoner  of 
Christ  Jesus,  and  Timothy  our  brother, 
to  Philemon  our  beloved  and  fellow- 
worker,  and  to  Apphia  our  sister,  and  to 
Archippus  our  fellow-soldier,  and  to 
the  church  in  thy  house." 

3  Vers.  23,24:  "  Epaphras,  my  fellow- 
prisoner  in  Christ  Jesus,  saluteth  thee ; 
and  so  do  Mark,  Aristarchus,  Demas, 
Luke,  my  fellow- workers." 

■*  Ver.  22  :  ''  But  withal  prepare  me 
also  a  lodging  :  for  I  hope  that  through 
your  prayers  I  shall  be  granted  unto 
you." 


M 


CHAPTER   XVI. 

"THE   EPISTLE   OF   PAUL   THE   APOSTLE   TO   THE 
EPHESIANS." 


I.  Authorship. 

As  regards  external  evidence,  this  is  one  of  the  best-attested 
of  Paul's  epistles  ;  and  until  recently  its  genuineness  was 
never  doubted.^ 

Internally  it  bears  a  strong  resemblance  to  Colossians, 
seventy-eight  of  its  one  hundred  and  fifty-five  verses  con- 
taining expressions  that  are  also  found  in  that  epistle,^    No 


1  Echoes  of  its  language,  more  or  less 
distinct,  are  found  in  the  writings  of 
Clement  of  Rome,  Barnabas,  Hermas, 
and  Ignatius.  The  last-named  writer,  in 
his  letter  to  the  Ephesiatis,  refers  to  Paul 
as  ' '  making  mention  of  you  in  Christ 
Jesus,  in  all  his  epistle"  (or  "in  every 
epistle,"  ev  wacrri  iTn.aTo\rj).  Polycarp 
quotes  as  Scripture  what  appears  to  be 
a  passage  in  Ephesians:  "  Modo,  ut 
his  scripturis  dictum  est,  '  Irascimini,  et 
nolite  peccare '  et  '  Sol  non  occidat  super 
iracundiam  vestram.'"  The  epistle 
was  acknowledged  by  Marcion  ;  it  is 
included  in  the  Muratorian  Canon,  and 
in  the  Syriac  and  Old  Latin  Versions ; 
and  it  is  expressly  quoted  as  Paul's  by 
Irenreus,  Clement  of  Alexandria,  and 
Origen. 

2  E.g.  cf.  the  following  parallel  pas- 
sages: — Eph.  i.  21-23:  "far  above  all 
rule,  and  authority,  and  power,  and 
dominion,  and  every  name  that  is 
named,  not  only  in  this  world,  but 
also  in  that  which  is  to  come  :  and  he 
put  all  things  in  subjection  under  his 
feet,  and  gave  him  to  be  head  over  all 
things  to  the  church,  which  is  his  body, 
the  fulness  of  him  that  filleth  all  in  all"  ; 
Col.  i.  16-19:  "for  in  him  were  all  things 
created,  in  the  heavens  and  upon  the 
earth,  things  visible  and  things  invisible, 
whether  thrones  or  dominions  or  princi- 
palities or  powers  ;  all  things  have  been 
created  through  him,  and  unto  him  ; 
and  he  is  before  all  things,  and  in  him 


all  things  consist.  And  he  is  the  head 
of  the  body,  the  church :  who  is  the 
beginning,  the  firstborn  from  the  dead  ; 
that  in  all  things  he  might  have  the  pre- 
eminence. For  it  was  the  good  pleasure 
of  the  Father  that  in  him  should  all  the 
fulness  dwell."  Eph.  iv.  15,  16:  "but 
speaking  truth  in  love,  may  grow  up  in 
all  things  into  him,  which  is  the  head, 
even  Christ ;  from  whom  all  the  body 
fitly  framed  and  knit  together  through 
that  which  every  joint  supplieth,  accord- 
ing to  the  working  in  due  measure  of 
each  several  part,  maketh  the  increase 
of  the  body  unto  the  building  up  of  itself 
in  love";  Col.  ii.  19:  "  And  not  holding 
fast  the  Head,  from  whom  all  the  body, 
being  supplied  and  knit  together  through 
the  joints  and  bands,  increaseth  with  the 
increase  of  God."  Eph.  iv.  22-24:  "that 
ye  put  away,  as  concerning  your  former 
manner  of  life,  the  old  man,  which  wax- 
eth  corrupt  after  the  lusts  of  deceit ;  and 
that  ye  be  renewed  in  the  spirit  of  your 
mind,  and  put  on  the  new  man,  which 
after  God  hath  been  created  in  righteous- 
ness and  holiness  of  truth  "  ;  Col.  iii.  9, 
10:  "lie  not  one  to  another;  seeing 
that  ye  have  put  off  the  old  man  with 
his  doings,  and  have  put  on  the  new 
man,  which  is  being  renewed  unto  know- 
ledge after  the  image  of  him  that  created 
him."  Eph.  v.  19,  20:  "  sjxniking  one 
to  another  in  psalms  and  hymns  and 
spiritual  songs,  singing  and  making 
melody  with  your  heart  to  the  Lord ; 


XVI. 


Ephesians. 


179 


doubt  the  resemblance  is  due  to  the  fact  that  the  two 
epistles  were  written  at  the  same  time  on  kindred  subjects 
to  kindred  Churches.  In  both  epistles  Tychicus  is  referred 
to  in  similar  terms  as  the  apostle's  messenger  ;  and  they 
both  bear  to  have  been  written  by  the  apostle  while  he  was 
a  prisoner.^  From  the  occurrence  of  the  significant  word 
"  also  "  in  the  parallel  passage  of  this  epistle,^  we  may  infer 
that  it  was  written  later  than  the  other,  although  but  a  few 
days  may  have  intervened — the  closing  verses  of  Colossians 
having  been  subsequently  added.^  As  might  have  been 
expected  under  the  circumstances,  the  similarity  between 
the  two  epistles  does  not  extend  to  continuous  passages, 
but  is  confined  to  single  verses  and  occasional  expressions 
such  as  would  be  likely  to  remain  in  the  writer's  memory 
and  reappear  in  his  language  if  he  were  writing  a  second 
time  within  a  very  short  interval.'* 


giving  thanks  always  for  all  things  in 
the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  to 
God,  even  the  Father  "  ;  Col.  iii.  16,  17  : 
"  Let  the  word  of  Christ  dwell  in  you 
richly  in  all  wisdom  ;  teaching  and  ad- 
monishing one  another  with  psalms  and 
hymns  and  spiritual  songs,  singing  with 
grace  in  your  hearts  unto  God.  And 
whatsoever  ye  do,  in  word  or  in  deed, 
do  all  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus, 
giving  thanks  to  God  the  Father  through 
him."  Eph.  v.  22 — vi.9,  and  Col.  iii. 
18 — iv.  I,  relating  to  various  forms  of 
domestic  duty. 

1  iv.  I :  "I  therefore,  the  prisoner  in 
the  Lord  "  ;  vi.  19-22  :  "  the  mystery  of 
the  gospel,  for  which  I  am  an  ambassa- 
dor in  chains  ;  that  in  it  I  may  speak 
boldly,  as  I  ought  to  speak.  But  that 
ye  also  may  know  my  affairs,  how  I  do, 
Tychicus,  the  beloved  brother  and  faith- 
ful minister  in  the  Lord,  shall  make 
known  to  you  all  things  :  whom  I  have 
sent  unto  you  for  this  very  purpose,  that 
ye  may  know  our  state,  and  that  he  may 
comfort  your  hearts"  ;  Col.  iv.  3  :  "the 
mystery  of  Christ,  for  which  I  am  also 
in  bonds";  vers.  7-9:  "All  my  affairs 
shall  Tychicus  make  known  unto  you, 
the  beloved  brother  and  faithful  min- 
ister and  fellow-servant  in  the  Lord  : 
whom  I  have  sent  unto  you  for  this  very 
purpose,  that  ye  may  know  our  estate, 
and  that  he  may  comfort  your  hearts." 

2  Sec  last  note. 

2  iv.  15-18:  "Salute  the  brethren," 
&c.  (quoted  p.  165,  note  3). 


■1  Attempts  have  been  made  to  show- 
that  one  of  the  epistles  is  a  spurious 
imitation  of  the  other,  Colossians  being 
generally  regarded  as  the  original.  But 
a  practical  refutation  of  such  views  has 
been  furnished  by  Holzmann — himself  a 
believer  only  in  a  genuine  nucleus  of 
Colossians,  which  he  supposes  to  have 
disappeared — when  he  points  out  seven 
passages  in  w  hich  Ephesians  appears  to 
be  the  original  (Eph.  i.  4=Col.  i.  22; 
Eph.  i.  6,  7=Col.  i.  13,  14  ;  Eph.  iii.  3, 
5,  9=C'ol.  i.  26,  ii.  2 ;  Eph.  iii.  17,  18, 
iv.  16,  ii.  2o=Col.  i.  23,  ii.  2,  7 ;  Eph. 
iv.  16  =  Col.  ii.  19;  Eph.  iv.  22-24=Col. 
iii.  9,  10;  Eph.  V.  i9  =  Col.  iii.  16);  and 
an  equal  number  of  passages,  in  which 
the  priority  must  be  assigned  to  Colos- 
sians— (Col.  i.  I,  2=Eph.  i.  I,  2  ;  Col.  i. 
3-9  =  Eph.  i.  15-18;  Col.  i.  s  =  Eph.  i.  3, 
12,  13  ;  Col.  i.  25-29  =  Eph.  iii.  2,  7  ;  Col. 
ii.  4-8  =  Eph.  iv.  17-21  ;  Col.  iv.  5  =  Eph. 
V.  15,  16;  Col.  iv.  6=Eph.  iv.  29).  Add 
to  this  that  in  some  respects  the  two 
epistles  are  widely  different  (see  p.  183), 
and  it  will  be  seen  that  common  author- 
ship, as  above  stated,  is  the  only  reason- 
able explanation  of  the  phenomena.  Be- 
sides, as  Dr.  Salmon  observes,  such  an 
unstudied  digression  as  we  find  in 
Eph.  iii. I — iv.i  (' anacolouthon ')  proves 
' '  that  we  have  here,  not  the  calm 
work  of  an  imitator  of  another  man's 
production,  but  the  fervid  utterances  of 
an  original  writer,  whom  a  rush  of  fresh 
thoughts  occasionally  carries  away  from 
what  he  had  been  about  to  say." 


I  So 


New  Testament  and  Its  Writers. 


XVI. 


We  have  a  remarkable  token  of  the  genuineness  of  this 
epistle,  as  of  several  others  attributed  to  Paul,  in  the  fact 
that  while  the  writer  dwells  with  great  satisfaction  on  the 
admission  of  the  Gentiles  to  the  blessings  of  the  Gospel, 
he  expresses  himself  with  regard  to  it  in  the  language  of 
a  patriotic  Jew,  to  whom  this  expansion  of  the  Messiah's 
kingdom  is  a  new  and  marvellous  dispensation  of  divine 
providence.  He  speaks  with  the  greatest  reverence  of  the 
position  and  privileges  of  God's  ancient  people,  showing  that 
in  a  spiritual  sense  the  Gentiles  are  now  raised  to  an  equality 
with  them,  and  that,  in  this  sense,  the  rite  of  circumcision, 
in  particular,  is  realised  in  the  hearts  of  all  true  Christians.^ 
This  is  a  state  of  feeling  which  was  most  natural  in  a  Jewish- 
born  Christian  like  Paul,  after  the  struggle  against  the  bond- 
age of  the  Law,  in  which  he  had  himself  taken  a  leading 
part,  was  practically  over. 


1  ii.  11-20:  "Wherefore  remember, 
that  aforetime  ye,  the  Gentiles  in  the 
flesh,  who  are  called  Uncircumcision 
by  that  which  is  called  Circumcision, 
in  the  flesh,  made  by  hands  ;  that  ye 
were  at  that  time  separate  from  Christ, 
alienated  from  the  commonwealth  of 
Israel,  and  strangers  from  the  covenants 
of  the  promise,  having  no  hope  and 
without  God  in  the  world.  But  now  in 
Christ  Jesus  ye  that  once  were  far  off  are 
made  nigh  in  the  blood  of  Christ.  For 
he  is  our  peace,  who  made  both  one,  and 
brake  down  the  middle  wall  of  partition, 
having  abolished  in  his  flesh  the  enmity, 
even  the  law  of  commandments  con- 
tained in  ordinances ;  that  he  might 
create  in  himself  of  the  twain  one  new 
man,  so  making  peace  ;  and  might  re- 
concile them  both  in  one  body  unto  God 
through  the  cross,  having  slain  the  en- 
mity thereby :  and  he  came  and  preached 
peace  to  you  that  were  far  off,  and  peace 
to  them  that  were  nigh:  for  through  him 
we  both  have  our  access  in  one  Spirit 
unto  the  Father.  So  then  ye  are  no 
more  strangers  and  sojourners,  but  ye 
are  fellow-citizens  with  the  saints,  and 
of  the  household  of  God,  being  built 
upon  the  foundation  of  the  apostles 
and  prophets,  Christ  Jesus  himself 
being  the  chief  corner  stone"  ;  iii.  1-9  : 
"...  the  mystery  of  Christ ;  which  in 
other  generations  was  not  made  known 
unto  the  sons  of  men,  as  it  hath  now 


been  revealed  unto  his  holy  apostles 
and  prophets  in  the  Spirit ;  to  wit,  that 
the  Gentiles  nre  fellow-heirs,  and  fellow- 
members  of  the  body,  and  fellow-par- 
takers of  the  promise  in  Christ  Jesus 
through  the  gospel,  whereof  I  was  made 
a  minister,  according  to  the  gift  of  that 
grace  of  God  which  was  given  me  ac- 
cording to  the  working  of  his  power. 
Unto  me,  who  am  less  than  the  least  of 
all  saints,  was  this  grace  given,  to  preach 
unto  the  Gentiles  the  unsearchable  riches 
of  Christ ;  and  to  make  all  men  see  what 
is  the  dispensation  of  the  mystery  which 
from  all  ages  hath  been  hid  in  God  who 
created  all  things."  The  same  token  of 
genuineness  may  be  seen  in  other  epistles 
of  Paul,  e.g.  Col.  ii.  11:  "in  whom 
ye  were  also  circumcised  with  a  circum- 
cision not  made  with  hands,  in  the  put- 
ting off  of  the  body  of  the  flesh,  in  the 
circumcision  of  Christ "  ;  Phil.  iii.  2,  3  : 
"  Beware  of  the  dogs,  beware  of  the  evil 
workers,  beware  of  the  concision  :  for 
we  are  the  circumcision,  who  worship  by 
the  Spirit  of  God,  and  glory  in  Christ 
Jesus,  and  have  no  confidence  in  the 
flesh"  ;  Gal.  vi.  16:  "And  as  many  as 
shall  walk  by  this  rule,  peace  be  upon 
them,  and  mercy,  and  upon  the  Israel 
of  God"  ;  Rom.  ii.  28,  29:  "For  he  is 
not  a  Jew,  which  is  one  outwardly ; 
neither  is  that  circumcision,  which  is 
outward  in  the  flesh  :  but  he  is  a  Jew, 
which   is   one   inwardly ;    and    circum- 


XVI.  Ephesians.  1 8 1 


2.    The  Readers. 

It  is  now  generally  agreed  that  this  epistle  was  not 
addressed  to  the  Church  at  Ephesus  exclusively,  but  was 
of  the  nature  of  a  circular-letter  for  the  general  use  of  the 
Churches  of  Proconsular  Asia. 

In  favour  of  this  supposition  are  the  facts  (i)  that  the 
words  "  in  Ephesus,"  in  the  opening  verse,  were  absent 
from  many  of  the  ancient  MSS.  known  to  Basil  (360  A.D.), 
and  are  wanting  in  the  two  oldest  MSS.  that  have  come 
down  to  us ;  ^  (2)  that  no  personal  salutations  are  found 
in  the  epistle  although  Paul  had  laboured  successfully  for 
several  years  at  Ephesus,  forming  many  intimate  friend- 
ships,^  nor  any  reference  whatever  to  his  experiences  during 
that  time  ;  (3)  that  he  writes  as  if  the  Christian  graces  of 
his  readers  were  only  known  to  him  by  report,  and  as  if  his 
apostleship  to  the  Gentiles  were  only  known  to  them  by 
hearsay  ;^  (4)  that  the  usual  apostolic  autograph  is  absent, 
owing,  we  may  suppose,  to  copies  of  the  epistle  for  the 
several  Churches  having  to  be  made  out  in  the  course  of 
the  messengers'  journeys  or  at  the  different  places  at  which 
they  had  to  be  delivered.^ 

cision  is  that  of  the  heart,  in  the  spirit,  shew  toward  all  the  saints,  cease  not  to 

not  in  the  letter ;  whose  praise  is  not  of  give  thanks  for  you,  making  mention  of 

men,  but  of  God."  you  in  my  prayers."     iv.  20,  21  :   "  But 

1  X  and    B       TOiS  d7tots  rdls  ovcriv  ye  did  not  so  learn  Christ ;  if  so  be  that 

Kai  TT^aToh  iy'XpicTTdi  'I-ncrod,    "to   the  ye  heard  him,  and  were  taught  in  him, 


saints  which  are  also  the  faithful  in  Christ 


even  as  truth  is  in  Jesus."    iii.  1-4:  "For 


t'  ..  '  this  cause  I  Paul,  the  prisoner  of  Christ 
2  Acts  XX.  17-38:  "Ye  yourselves  Jesus  in  behalf  of  you  Gentiles,-if  so  be 
know,  from  the  first  day  that  I  set  foot  th-at  ye  have  heard  of  the  dispensation 
in  Asia,  after  what  manner  I  was  with  of  'hat  grace  of  God  which  was  given 
you  all  the  time,  serving  the  Lord  with  me  to  you-ward  ;  how  that  by  revelation 
all  lowliness  of  mind,  and  with  tears,  and  was  made  known  unto  me  the  mystery, 
with  trials  which  befell  me  by  the  plots  ^s  I  wrote  afore  in  few  words,  whereby, 
of  the  Jews  :  how  that  I  shrank  not  from  when  ye  read  ye  can  perceive  my  under- 
declaring  unto  you  anything  that  was  standing  in  the  mystery  of  Chris  .  Cf. 
profitable,  and  teaching  you  publicly,  <-ol  i-  4-9  (quoted  p.  167,  note  1). 
and  from  house  to  house.  .  .  .  4  The  indirect  form  of  the  Benediction 
Wherefore  watch  ye,  remembering  that  at  the  close  of  the  epistle  (vi.  23):  "Peace 
by  the  space  of  three  years  I  ceased  not  be  to  the  brethren,  and  love  with  faith," 
to  admonish  every  one  night  and  day  is  also  a  corroborative  circumstance,  be- 
with  tears.  ..."  ing  found  nowhere  else  in  Paul's  epistles ; 
:' i.  15,  16:  "For  this  cause  I  also,  cf.  Col.  iv.  18:  "Grace  be  with  you." 
having  heard  of  the  faith  in  the  Lord  The  great  thought  of  the  epistle,  too, 
Jesus  which  is  among  you,  and  which  ye  viz.,    the    unity    of    the    holy  catholic 


1 82  Neiv  Tcs  I  anient  and  Its  Writers.  xvi. 

There  can  be  little  doubt,  indeed,  that  we  have  here  the 
epistle  referred  to  in  the  letter  addressed  to  the  Colossians, 
where  the  apostle  directs  them  to  read  also  '^  the  epistle  from 
Laodicea"  and  to  send  their  own  letter  in  exchange,  for  the 
benefit  of  the  Christians  there.^  Even  before  the  middle 
of  the  second  century  we  find  a  heretical  writer  (Marcion) 
giving  this  epistle  the  title  To  the  Laodiceans?  Yet  it  is 
evident  that  it  could  not  have  been  specially  addressed  to 
Laodicea,  as  the  apostle  sends  his  salutations  to  "  the 
brethren  that  are  in  Laodicea"  through  another  channel.^ 
The  difficulty  is  met  by  supposing  that  we  have  here  a 
circular-letter  of  which  Laodicea  received  a  copy  in 
common  with  other  Churches  of  the  province, — to  be 
communicated  to  the  neighbouring  Church  at  Colossae. 
The  name  of  the  Ephesian  Church  would  naturally  become 
associated  with  the  epistle,  owing  to  its  being  the  leading 
Church  of  the  district,  probably  receiving  the  first  copy 
from  Tychicus  when  he  landed  at  its  port  on  his  way  to 
Colossse,  and  becoming  the  source  of  many  later  copies  to 
Churches  in  other  parts  of  the  world. 

3.  Date  and  Place  of  Composition. 
At  Rome,  62-63  a.d.  (see  pp.  15 1-5). 

4.   Character  and  Contents. 

It  has  been  said  by  Coleridge  that  this  is  "  one  of  the 
divinest  compositions  of  man.  It  embraces  every  doctrine 
of  Christianity ;  first,  those  doctrines  peculiar  to  Chris- 
tianity ;    secondly,    those    precepts    common    to    it    with 

Church,  is  eminently  suitable  for  such  a  preferred,  however,  the  common  and 
letter;  and  Asia  Minor  was  rapidly  be-  traditional  title,  "  To  the  Ephesians" — 
coming  the  leading  province  of  Christen-  although  he  adds  "nihil  autem  de  titulis 
dom  ;  cf.  Rev.  i.  4  :  "John  to  the  seven  interest."  Epiphanius  says  of  Marcion, 
churches  which  are  in  Asia."  "  He  has  also  portions  of  the  epistle 
This  is  not  a  recent  theory.  It  was  called  To  the  Laodiceans;  but  the  quota- 
advocated  by  an  English  scholar  (Arch-  tion  that  he  gives  from  it  is  almost  identi- 
bishop  Ussher),  in  the  seventeenth  cal  with  a  passage  in  our  Ephesians " 
century.  (viz.  iv.  5,  6). 

1  Col.  iv.  16.  3  Col.  iv.  15. 

2  This  we  learn  from  Tertullian,  who 


XVI,  Ephesians.  183 

natural  religion."  In  its  doctrinal  part^  the  epistle  is 
distinguished  by  a  tone  of  exultation  which  will  not  stoop 
to  controversy,  expressing  itself  in  the  flow  of  a  sublime 
eloquence  rather  than  in  the  form  of  a  logical  argument. 
Instead  of  labouring  to  demonstrate  those  truths,  regard- 
ing the  standing  of  the  Gentiles  and  his  own  position  as 
the  apostle  of  the  Gentiles,  for  which  he  had  contended  in 
his  earlier  epistles,  the  writer  takes  these  things  for  granted 
and  soars  into  far  loftier  regions — viewing  the  Gospel  and 
the  Church  in  relation  not  to  time,  but  to  eternity,  not  to 
the  nations  of  the  world,  but  to  the  universe  at  large. 
Here,  as  in  Colossians,  Paul  recognises  Christ  as  the 
appointed  Head  of  the  tiniverse  —  material  as  well  as 
spiritual  —  and  sees  in  His  atoning  death  the  universal 
centre  of  divine  providence.  Here,  as  there,  he  is  thrilled 
with  a  sense  of  joy  not  untouched  with  awe  when  he  con- 
templates the  great  mystery  of  the  divine  will — the  eternal 
purpose  of  God  so  long  concealed,  but  now  at  length 
revealed  and  so  far  realised  through  his  instrumentality, 
to  wit,  the  destined  union  of  Jew  and  Gentile  in  the 
mystical  body  of  the  risen  and  exalted  Christ.  In  this 
union  he  sees  the  pledge  and  token  of  that  universal 
gathering  together  in  one  of  "  all  things  in  Christ,  the 
things  in  the  heavens,  and  the  things  upon  the  earth," 
that  is  to  be  the  consummation  of  God's  purposes  in 
Christ.-  But,  whereas  in  Colossians  he  dwells  mainly  on 
"Ca^ person  of  Christ  as  the  "fulness  of  the  Godhead  bodily," 
here  he  is  impelled  rather  to  the  contemplation  of  the 
Church  as  "  the  body  of  Christ,  the  fulness  of  him  that 
filleth  all  in  all,"  ^  and  expatiates  upon  the  ideal  glory  and 

1  Chaps,  i.— iii.  ideal  unity  (iv.   1-15) ;  that  which  con- 

2  i.  10.  trasts  the  deeds  of  darkness  and  light 

3  This  is  not  the  only  difference  be-  (v.  7-14) ;  that  about  the  mystery  of 
tween  the  two  epistles.  "The  char-  Christian  marriages  (v.  22-33) ;  and  that 
acteristic  phrase,  'the  heavenlies,'  about  the  Christian  armour  (vi.  10-17)— 
which  occurs  five  times  in  Ephesians,  have  no  parallel  in  Colossians.  Ephesians 
does  not  occur  once  in  Colossians.  Five  has  seven  Old  Testament  allusions, 
sections  in  Ephesians  —  that  which  Colossians  has  only  one.  Again,  Colos- 
states  the  fore-ordained  unity  of  the  sians  is  brief  and  logical,  Ephesians  more 
redeemed  Universal  Church  (i.  3-14)  ;  lyrical  and  diffuse.  .  .  .  Colossians  is 
that  about  living  in  a  way  worthy  of  this  St.   Paul's  '  argument,  his  process,  his 


184  New  Testament  and  Its  Writers.  xvi. 

riches  of  the  spiritual  blessing  with  which  its  members  are 
blessed  in  heavenly  places  in  Christ.^ 

The  first  half  of  the  epistle  is  thus  for  the  most  part 
a  hymn  of  praise  for  \ki&  grace  of  God,  manifested  "  accord- 
ing to  His  good  pleasure  which  He  purposed  in  him  " 
{i.e.  Christ), — accompanied  with  the  apostle's  prayer  for  his 
readers  that  they  may  realise  the  glory  of  their  catling. 
Hence  it  was  Calvin's  favourite  epistle,  as  Galatians  was  of 
Luther. 

In  the  second  part  the  apostle  descends  by  a  swift  and 
beautiful  transition  to  the  duties  of  common  life,  "  I  there- 
fore, the  prisoner  in  the  Lord,  beseech  you  to  walk  worthily 
of  the  calling  wherewith  ye  were  called."  ^  He  thus  in- 
troduces a  series  of  practical  exhortations,  based  on  the 
ideal  unity  of  the  Church  as  the  harmonious  body  of 
Christ,  and  embracing  the  various  forms  of  social  and 
domestic  duty  to  which  "the  new  man"  is  called  in  the 
ordinary  relations  of  life.^  Finally  there  is  a  stirring  call 
to  put  on  the  whole  armour  of  God  for  the  conflict  with 
the  powers  of  evil, — expressed  in  the  language  of  a  meta- 
phor which  may  have  been  suggested  to  Paul  by  his 
military  surroundings  at  Rome,  and  forming  a  passage  of 
great  force  and  beauty,  which  of  itself  would  make  this 
epistle  a  precious  heritage  of  the  Church.* 

The  catholic  nature  of  this  epistle  shows  that  the 
apostle's  education  was  well-nigh  complete.  The  Saviour, 
whom  he  only  knew  at  his  conversion  as  the  Risen  One 
dwelling  in  another  world,  has  become  to  him  as  an 
all-pervading  Presence  which  may  be  realised  even  now 

caution';  Ephesians  is  instruction  pass-  1  The  word  "spirit"  or  "spiritual" 

ing  into  prayer,  a  Creed  soaring  into  an  and  "  the  grace  of  God  "  occur,  each  of 

impassioned  Psahn"  (Farrar).     Findlay  them,  13  times  in  this  epistle;  the  ex- 

[The  Epistles  of  Paul,  ^.  ■iZo)svi.ggfii,\.%  pression    "in    Christ"    (or    equivalent) 

that  this   "amplitude  of  style  which  is  still  more  frequently  ;  and  "  the  heaven- 

a  new  feature  in  the  apostle's  manner  lies"  5  times,  this  being  "emphatically 

as   a    writer"    was    "due    perhaps    to  the  Epistle  of  the  Ascension." 
the  leisure  of  prison  and  the  habit  of  2  jy.  i. 

meditation    which    it    fostered";    and  3  iv.  1-16  (church  life) ;  iv.17  —  v. '21 

he  points  out  that  it  is   not  altogether  (life  in  the  world);  v.22  —  vi.9  (lifejn 

absent  from  Colossians  (i.  9-11,  16-20,  the  family). 
27-29).  -1  vi.  10,  seq. 


XVI. 


Ephesians. 


185 


in  the  sphere  of  common  h'fe,  as  the  type  of  all  affection 
and  the  centre  of  all  authority,  in  the  State  and  in  the 
family  as  well  as  in  the  Church.^  During  his  residence  at 
Rome,  the  seat  of  empire  and  the  centre  of  the  world's 
secular  life,  Paul  learned,  as  he  had  never  yet  done,  the 
meaning  of  the  Saviour's  prayer,  "  Thy  kingdom  come. 
Thy  will  be  done  on  earth  as  it  is  in  heaven."  ^ 


1  Compare,  for  example,  his  view  of 
marriage,  the  original  and  central  re- 
lationship of  human  life,  in  this  epistle 
(v.  22-33),  find  in  I  Cor.  (xi. )  written 
about  five  years  before.  "  He  had  all 
along  maintamed  the  lawfulness  of  the 
matrimonial  state  :  he  had  in  certain 
cases  asserted  its  expediency.  But  at 
the  stage  of  the  Roman  captivity  mar- 
riage has  become  to  him  not  only  in 
some  cases  expedient,  but  in  every  case 
sacramental.  ...  It  has  become  in 
Paul's  sight  the  shadow  and  the  type 
on  earth  of  that  which  he  regarded  as 
the  central  fact  of  heaven, — the  union 
between  the  Christ  of  love  and  the 
Church  which  He  had  purchased  with 
His  blood  "  (Matheson,  Spiritual  De- 
velopine?it  of  Si.  Paul). 

2  "  His  vision  of  divine  truth  at 
Corinth  had  partaken  somewhat  of  the 
manner  of  Greece.     Just   as  the  Greek 


beheld  the  divine  influence  only  where 
he  beheld  the  human  beauty,  so  Paul  in 
the  Corinthian  stage  of  his  history  had 
recognised  the  sacramental  headship 
only  where  he  saw  the  union  of  the 
ecclesiastical  members.  But  when  Paul 
reached  Rome,  he  began  to  see  after 
the  manner  of  Rome.  The  kingdom  of 
God  to  him  took  that  form  which  the 
kingdom  of  Caesar  assumed  to  the 
Latin  race — the  form  of  a  membership 
which  was  connected  with  all  other 
memberships.  .  .  .  What  the  citizens  of 
the  empire  beheld  merely  as  a  coin 
bearing  the  superscription  of  Cajsar  was 
reflected  to  his  gaze  with  the  stamp  and 
impress  of  the  Son  of  man.  Instead  of 
contemplating,  as  in  days  of  yore,  the 
dissolution  of  its  life,  he  began  to  con- 
template the  Christianising  of  its  life." 
(Matheson,  ibid.) 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


THE   PASTORAL   EPISTLES. 


I  and  2  Timothy  and  Titus  are  known  as  the  Pastoral 
Epistles,  because  they  relate  chiefly  to  the  qualifications 
and  duties  of  office-bearers  entrusted  with  the  pastoral 
care  of  the  Church.^ 

They  are  distinguished  from  all  the  other  epistles  of 
Paul  by  their  want  of  Jiistorical  agreement  with  any 
period  in  the  life  of  the  apostle  as  recorded  in  the  Book 
of  Acts,-  and  also  by  their  strongly-marked  individnality 
alike  in  style  and  substance.  Hence  their  genuineness 
has  been  more  called  in  question  than  any  of  the  other 
epistles  of  Paul  ^  —  notwithstanding  a  large  amount  of 
external  testimony  in  their  favour.^ 


1  The  name  is  less  applicable,  how- 
ever, to  2  Timothy,  which  turns  largely 
on  the  personal  relations  between  St. 
Paul  and  Timothy. 

"  Ingenious  attempts  have  been  made 
by  Wieseler  and  others  to  find  a  place 
for  them  in  the  period  embraced  by  the 
Book  of  Acts,  but  without  success. 

^  The  question  was  raised  by  Schmidt 
(1804),  followed  by  Schleiermacher 
(1807),  who  admitted  the  genuineness  of 
2  Timothy  and  Titus,  but  pronounced 
I  Timothy  to  be  a  forgery.  A  little 
later  all  three  epistles  were  rejected  by 
Eichhorn  and  De  Wette.  In  1835 
Baur  opened  his  assault  on  the  New 
Testament  by  his  treatise  on  "  the  so- 
called  Pastoral  Epistles  of  the  Apostle 
Paul,"  in  which  he  assigned  them  to  the 
middle  of  the  second  century,  as  occa- 
sioned by  the  heresies  of  Marcion,  which 
they  were  intended  to  counteract. 
More  recently  this  opinion  has  been 
maintained  by  Holzmann,  Hilgenfeld, 
and  Pfleiderer ;  but  the  general  ten- 
dency, even  among  negative  critics,  has 
been  to  concede  an  earlier  date.  It  has 
also  come  to  be  generally  acknowledged 
that  the  three  epistles  present  one  com- 


mon problem  which  must  be  dealt  with 
as  a  whole,  although  there  are  still  some 
comparatively  recent  writers  (Bleek, 
Reuss,  Ewald,  Renan,  Hausrath)  that 
reject  i  Timothy,  but  are  disposed  to 
admit  the  genuineness  of  2  Timothy,  or 
even  of  2  Timothy  and  Titus,  in  whole 
or  in  part.  '•  Some  passages  of  these 
letters,"  says  Renan  (who  dates  them 
about  100  A.D.),  "  are  so  beautiful  that 
one  may  well  ask  whether  the  forger 
had  not  in  his  hands  some  authentic 
notes  of  Paul  which  he  fitted  into  his 
apocryphal  composition."  "You  can 
perceive  the  influence  of  Paul :  a  sort  of 
sobriety  in  mysticism :  and  amid  the 
strangest  excesses  of  faith  in  the  super- 
natural a  great  fund  of  rectitude  and 
sincerity."  Among  English  writers 
excellent  statements  for  the  defence  have 
been  furnished  by  Dr.  Salmon,  Canon 
Farrar,  Dr.  Wace  (Speaker's  Commen- 
tary), Rev.  G.  G.  Findlay  (in  Sabatier's 
"The  Apostle  Paul"),  Dr.  Dodds  and 
others. 

■1  There  are  several  echoes,  more  or 
less  distinct,  in  Clement  of  Rome  and 
Ignatius  ;  and  in  Polycarp  the  resem- 
blances to  passages  in  i  and  2  Timothy 


XVII. 


The  Pasioj^al  Epistles. 


187 


The  objections  taken  to  them,  however,  on  these 
grounds  are  ahnost  entirely  obviated  if  we  suppose  them 
to  have  been  written  siibsequently  to  the  events  narrated 
in  the  Book  of  Acts.  This  is  a  supposition  that  in 
itself  involves  no  improbability.  It  was  Paul's  own  expec- 
tation ^  that  he  would  be  released  from  the  imprisonment 
in  which  the  Book  of  Acts  leaves  him ;  and  for  this  ex- 
pectation he  seems  to  have  had  sufficient  grounds  in  the 
inadequacy  of  the  evidence  brought  against  him,  as  well 
as  in  the  tolerant  attitude  of  the  Roman  Government 
previous  to  the  great  fire  in  Rome  (64  A.D.),  which  was 
alsely  attributed  to  the  Christians  and  brought  terrible 
persecutions  in  its  train. ^  Moreover,  there  is  an  early  and 
general  tradition  to  the  effect  that  he  was  released.^ 
Assuming  that  his  liberation  did  take  place,  the  difficulty 
of  harmonising  the  epistles  with  his  life  disappears  ;  while 


are  too  marked  to  have  been  due  to 
accident.  This  indirect  evidence  of 
Polycarp  is  confirmed  by  the  express 
testimony  of  his  disciple  Irenasus,  who 
attributes  all  three  epistles  to  Paul ;  and 
their  testimony  is  the  more  valuable, 
because  both  writers  were  well  ac- 
quainted with  Ephesus,  where  Timothy 
was  stationed  when  he  received  the  two 
epistles  that  bear  his  name.  There  are 
also  apparent  quotations  from  one  or 
more  of  the  epistles  in  Justin  Martyr, 
Athenagoras,  the  letter  of  the  Churches 
of  Vienne  and  Lyons,  and  Theophilus 
— the  last  named  quoting  i  Tim.  ii.  i, 
2,  as  "the  Divine  word."  The  three 
epistles  are  also  found  in  the  oldest 
Versions  and  the  Muratorian  Canon,  and 
were  considered  genuine  by  the  Church 
Fathers  who  wrote  at  the  close  of  the 
second  century.  It  is  true  that  they 
were  rejected  by  Marcion  and  Basilides, 
and,  in  part,  by  Tatian  ;  but  this,  as 
Clement  of  Alexandria  and  Jerome  tell 
us,  was  owing  to  the  difficulty  these 
heretics  had  in  reconciling  the  teaching 
of  the  epistles  with  their  peculiar  tenets. 
Even  such  a  hostile  critic  as  Dr.  S. 
Davidson  admits  that  "  the  early  here- 
tical opposition  to  the  epistles  seems  to 
have  been  prompted  by  doctrinal  pre- 
possessions, and  cannot  overbalance 
other  testimonies." 

1  Philippians  ii.  24:  "but  I  trust  in 
the  Lord  that  I  myself  also  shall  come 


shortly."  Philemon,  ver.  22:  "But 
withal  prepare  me  also  a  lodging  :  for  I 
hope  that  through  your  prayers  I  shall 
be  granted  unto  you." 

2  If  Paul's  trial  had  resulted  in  con- 
viction and  punishment,  it  would  have 
formed  a  precedent  which  must  have 
been  followed  in  other  cases  for  a  con- 
siderable time  previous  to  64  A.D. — all 
the  more  so  because  he  was  a  Roman 
citizen.  But  this  is  inconsistent  with  the 
statements  of  Tacitus. — Prof.  Ramsay, 
Expositor,  July  1893. 

s  Our  earliest  informant  is  Clement 
of  Rome  (i.  5),  who  speaks  of  the 
apostle  as  "having  taught  righteous- 
ness unto  the  whole  world  and  having 
reached  the  boundary  of  the  West  "  (eTrt 
t6  T^p/xa  T^j  Sutrews  iXQdiv).  Lightfoot 
interprets  this  latter  clause,  coming 
from  the  pen  of  one  resident  in  Rome, 
as  referring  to  "  the  western  extremity 
of  Spain,  the  pillars  of  Hercules,"  which 
is  also  the  view  taken  by  Gebhardt  and 
Harnack.  It  finds  important  confirma- 
tion in  the  Muratorian  Fragment,  where 
Luke  is  stated  to  have  omitted,  in  the 
Book  of  Acts,  the  departure  of  Paul 
from  the  city  when  setting  out  for 
Spain"  (profectionem  Pauli  ab  urbe  ad 
Spaniam  proficiscentis),  because  he 
confined  himself  to  what  fell  under  his 
own  observation.  Eusebius,  a  century 
or  two  later,  mentions  that  St.  Paul, 
"  after  having  defended  himself,  is  said 


1 88  New  Testa^nent  and  Its  Writers.  xvii. 

the  late  date  of  their  composition — possibly  some  years 
after  his  release — would  go  far  to  account  for  the  peculiar- 
ity of  their  contents.  It  is  no  wonder  that  questions  of 
discipline  and  government  as  well  as  of  orthodoxy  should 
now  receive  from  the  apostle  a  larger  measure  of  attention 
than  they  had  done  hitherto,  considering  the  growing 
needs  of  the  Church  arising  from  the  gradual  expansion  of 
its  organisations  as  a  corporate  body  held  together  by  a 
common  creed.  The  Church  had  now  been  for  many 
years  a  visible  institution  with  office-bearers  of  its  own  ; 
and  important  doctrines  had  been  vindicated  and  estab- 
lished. To  conserve  these  doctrines  and  to  provide  for  the 
regular  superintendence  of  the  Church  after  he  and  the 
other  apostles  had  passed  away,  was  Paul's  great  object  in 
writing  these  epistles. 

The  large  infusion  of  new  words  in  these  epistles  has 
been  represented  as  a  mark  of  spuriousness.  But  on  the 
whole  their  introduction  is  only  in  accordance  with  the 
gradual  expansion  of  the  apostle's  vocabulary,  which  is 
evident  on  a  comparison  of  his  successive  writings ;  ^  and, 
in  particular,  many  of'these  words  are  new  simply  because 
the  things  they  signify  had  not  previously  come  within  the 

to  have  set  forth  again  upon  the  mini-  reaches  ten.     It  is  not  surprising,  there- 

stry  of  preaching,  and  to  have  entered  fore,  that  the  Pastorals  furnish  thirteen 

the  same  city  a  second   time,  and   to  hapax-legomena  to  the  chapter,  especi- 

have  there  ended  his  life  by  martyrdom."  ally  when  it  is  considered  that  this  is 

In  the  face  of  these  statements,  accepted  the  last  group  of  the  four,  and  that  if 

by  many  subsequent  writers,  it  is  surely  later  writings  from  the  same  hand  had 

too  much  for  Dr.  S.  Davidson  to  say  been  extant,  the  list  of  its  peculiarities 

that  Paul's  release  is  "  historically  base-  would     in     all    likelihood    have    been 

less."     But  even  this    is  not  sufficient  reduced."     Moreover,  there  are  special 

for   his   purpo.se  ;  he  would  require  to  links  of  connection  between  the  Pastoral 

show  that  it  is  historically /a/je.    Other-  Epistles  and  the  immediately  preceding 

wise  it  is  a  legitimate  hypothesis  in  the  group  of  the  Imprisonment.    As  regards 

case  for  the  defence.  expression,    compare   e.g.    2    Tim.    iv. 

1  Among   other  interesting  computa-  6-8:   "For  I  am  already  being  offered, 

tions,   Findlay  mentions   that   "in   the  and  the  time  of  my  (/d^rtr/z^/'e  is  come. 

two  Thessalonian  epistles,  forming  the  I   have  fought   the  good  fight,  I  have 

first  group  of  Paul's  writings,  there  is  finished   the   course,    I    have   kept    the 

an  average  of  five  hapax-legomena  [i.e.  faith  :  henceforth  there  is  laid  up  for  me 

words  not  elsewhere  used  in  the  New  the  croivn   of  righteousness,  which  the 

Testament)  to  the  chapter  ;  in  Romans,  Lord,  the  righteous  judge,  shall  give  to 

of  the  second  group,  the  average  is  nearly  me  at  that  day,"  with  Phil.  i.  23  :   "  hav- 

seveti  ;    in    Ephesians   and    Colossians  ing  the  desire  lo  depart"  ;  i.  30 :  "the 

taken  together,  eight ;  in  Philippians,  a  same  cotiflict  which  ye  saw  in  me"  ;  ii. 

little  later, — although  the  subject-matter  17  :   "  Yea,  and  if  I  am  offered  upon  the 

is  of  so  general  a  purport — the  figure  sacrifice  and  service  of  your  faith,  I  joy, 


XVII. 


The  Pastoral  Epistles. 


189 


scope  of  the  apostle's  teaching.  For  it  must  be  remem- 
bered that  the  Pastoral  Epistles  differ  widely  from  the 
other  writings  of  St.  Paul  alike  as  regards  their  recipients 
— friends  and  colleagues,  not  congregations — and  the 
ecclesiastical  questions  with  which  they  deal. 

The  idea  that  the  epistles  may  have  been  the  products 
of  a  later  age  is  in  many  respects  untenable.  Both  as 
regards  the  office-bearers  mentioned,  namely,  bishops  and 
deacons,  and  the  doctrinal  needs  and  dangers  of  the 
Church,  they  remind  us  far  more  of  the  state  of  things 
existing  during  Paul's  first  imprisonment  at  Rome,  when  he 
wrote  Philippians  and  Colossians,  than  of  anything  in  the 
second  century.  The  name  "bishop"  is  here  applied  to 
the  "  presbyters  "  or  elders  themselves  as  the  overseers  of 
the  congregation,!  instead  of  being  appropriated,  as  it  was 


and  rejoice  with  you  all"  ;  iii.  14  :  "I 
press  on  toward  the  goal  unto  the  prize 
of  the  high  calling  of  God  in  Christ 
Jesus."  In  each  of  the  two  epistles 
as  thus  quoted  there  are  two  Greek 
words  ((XTrevdo/xai  and  dvaXvcris  or 
dvaXvaai)  which  are  found  nowhere  else 
in  the  New  Testament,  andathird(d70j;') 
which  is  peculiar  to  St.  Paul's  writings 
and  is  of  rare  occurrence.  It  has  also 
been  observed  that  a  remarkable  feature 
common  to  these  two  groups  of  epistles, 
is  "an  increasing  fondness  for  compou7id 
words,  sometimes  of  strange  and 
original  forms."  The  catholicity  of 
spirit  which  we  have  seen  to  be  charac- 
teristic of  the  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 
is  here  even  more  striking,  e.g.  in  i  Tim. 
ii.  4  :  "  who  willeth  that  all  men  should 
be  saved,  and  come  to  the  knowledge 
of  the  truth  "  ;  iv.  10  :  "  the  living  God, 
who  is  the  Saviour  of  all  men,  specially  of 
them  that  believe"  ;  Titus  ii.  11 :  "  For 
the  grace  of  God  hath  appeared,  bring- 
ing salvation  to  all  men  "  ;  Titus  i.  15  : 
"To  the  pure  all  things  are  pure"; 
I  Tim.  iv.  4  :  "  For  every  creature  of  God 
is  good,  and  nothing  is  to  be  rejected, 
if  it  be  received  with  thanksgiving." 

A  resemblance  can  be  traced  between 
the  language  of  the  Pastoral  Epistles 
and  that  of  St.  Luke's  writings  [cf.  2 
Tim.  iv.  II  :  "  Only  Luke  is  with  me  ") 
as  well  as  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews 
[cf.  Heb.  xiii.  23  :  ''  Know  ye  that  our 
brother    Timothy    hath     been    set    at 


liberty  ;  with  whom,  if  he  come  shortly, 
I  will  see  you").  A  number  of  Latin- 
isms  have  also  been  discovered,  due  to 
Paul's  long  residence  at  Rome.  Some 
of  the  leading  and  typical  expressions 
occurring  in  these  epistles  will  be  found 
on  pp.  199,  200.  A  complete  list  of 
the  words  and  phrases  peculiar  to  them 
(amounting  to  about  one-fifth  of  the 
whole)  is  given  by  Davidson  and  Holz- 
mann,  and  will  also  be  found  in  Thay- 
er's Appendi.x  to  Grimm's  New  Tes- 
tament Lexicon. 

1  E.g.  Titus  i.  5-7  :  ' '  For  this  cause 
left  I  thee  in  Crete,  that  thou  shouldest 
set  in  order  the  things  that  were  want- 
ing, and  appoint  elders  in  every  city,  as 
I  gave  thee  charge ;  if  any  man  is 
blameless,  the  husband  of  one  wife, 
having  children  that  believe,  who  are 
not  accused  of  riot  or  unruly.  For  the 
bishop  must  be  blameless,  as  God's 
steward  ;  not  selfwilled,  not  soon  angry, 
no  brawler,  no  striker,  not  greedy  of 
filthy  lucre";  cf.  Acts  .x.x.  17-28: 
"  And  from  Miletus  he  sent  to  Ephesus, 
and  called  to  him  the  elders  of  the 
church.  And  when  they  were  come  to 
him,  he  said  unto  them.  Ye  yourselves 
know,  from  the  first  day  that  I  set  foot 
in  Asia,  after  what  manner  I  was  with 
you  all  the  time.  .  .  .  Take  heed  unto 
yourselves,  and  to  all  the  flock,  in  the 
which  the  Holy  Ghost  hath  made  you 
bishops,  tofeed  the  church  of  God,  which 
he  purchased  with  his  own  blood." 


1 90  Nezv  Testament  and  Its  Writers.  xvu. 

early  in  the  second  century,  to  a  chief  dignitary  exercising 
authority  over  the  other  office-bearers  (see  pp.  162-3  s-^^d 
notes  there).  Moreover,  the  "  knowledge  falsely  so  called  "  ^ 
which  is  denounced  in  these  epistles  comes  far  short  of  the 
elaborate  Gnosticism  of  the  second  century,  which  set 
itself  in  direct  opposition  to  the  orthodox  faith,  and  repudi- 
ated all  affinity  with  the  Jewish  law.  The  errors  which 
the  apostle  here  combats  are  evidently  of  a  vague  and 
unformed  character,  awaiting  further  development,  as  he 
indicates  by  his  references  to  the  future  ;  ^  and  in  particular 
they  bear  traces  of  that  semi-Jewish  character^  which  we 
know  to  have  belonged  to  Christian  Gnosticism  in  its 
earlier  stages.  In  this  respect,  as  well  as  in  the  morbid 
asceticism  professed  by  the  false  teachers,*  the  corrupt 
form  of  Christianity  that  meets  us  here  is  very  similar  to 
that  which  is  dealt  with  in  the  epistle  to  the  Colossians, — 
but  exhibited  in  a  somewhat  ranker  growth. 


"  THE   FIRST   EPISTLE   OF   PAUL   THE   APOSTLE   TO 
TIMOTHY." 

I.  AiithorsJiip. 

The  strong  external  evidence  in  favour  of  the  genuine- 
ness of  this  epistle  has  been  already  mentioned.  We  can 
trace  allusion  to  it  as  far  back  as  the  close  of  the  first 

1  In  the  phrase  "  oppositions  of  the  stopped";  i.  14:  "  not  giving  heed  to 
knowledge  which  is  falsely  so  called"  Jewish  fables";  iii.  9:  "fightings 
(i  Tim.  vi.  20),  Baiir  saw  a  reference  to  about  the  law."  The  "fables  and  end- 
Marcion's  work entitled^-i«^zVA«« which  less  genealogies"  of  i  Tim.  i.  4  [cf. 
set  the  Law  and  the  Gospel  in  opposition  Titus  iii.  9  :  "  shun  foolish  questionings, 
to  one  another.  But,  as  Davidson  ad-  and  genealogies,  and  strifes,  and  fight- 
mits,  "probably  the  word  translated  ings  about  the  law;  for  they  are  un- 
oppositio7is  (dvTi.9effeis)  means  dogmas  profitable  and  vain  ")  have  probably 
opposed  to  sound  doctrine,  not  oral-  also  a  Jewish  reference,  as  "  there  are 
tkeses  in  the  specifically  Marcionite  in  the  Jewish  Kabala  genealogies  of 
sense."  various  kinds  which  may  have  had  their 

2  I  Tim.   iv.    I  ;    2   Tim.   ii.   16,   17;  prototype  in  very  early  days." 

iii.  I.  ■*  I  Tim.  iv.  3  :   "  forbidding  to  marry, 

■^  I  Tim.  i.  7  :   "  desiring  to  be  teach-  and  commanding  to  abstain  from  meats, 

ers  of  the  law";  Titus  i.   10:    "For  which  God  created  to  be  received  with 

there  are  many  unruly  men,  vain  talkers  thanksgiving  by  them  that  believe  and 

and  deceivers,  specially  they  of  the  cir-  know  the  truth,"  &c. 
cumcision,    whose     mouths     must    be 


XVII.  I    Timothy.  191 

century.  A  hundred  years  later  we  find  it  universally 
accepted  as  Paul's,  although  it  had  been  rejected  in  the 
course  of  the  second  century  by  one  or  two  heretical 
writers,  owing  to  the  difficulty  of  reconciling  its  teaching 
with  their  favourite  tenets. 

In  a  general  sense  its  peculiarities  in  language  and 
contents  have  also  been  accounted  for.  In  some  respects, 
however,  these  peculiarities  are  positively  in  favour  of  the 
Pauline  authorship.  How  unlikely  that  a  forger  should 
have  inserted  the  word  "  mercy "  in  the  usual  Pauline 
greeting  "  grace  and  peace,"  ^  or  have  omitted  to  make 
frequent  use  of  the  connecting  particles  "  therefore,"  "  where- 
fore," "then,"  "as,"  &c.,  which  are  so  common  in  Paul's 
writings.- 

Objection  has  been  taken  to  the  expression  "  let  no  man 
despise  thy  youth,"  ^  as  if  the  apostle  could  not  have 
applied  that  language  to  Timothy  when  he  may  have  been 
a  man  of  thirty-five  years  of  age.  But  we  have  here 
rather  a  token  of  genuineness.  For  youth  is  relative  ;  and 
in  Paul's  eyes  Timothy,  being  so  much  his  junior,  and 
having  been  known  to  him  as  a  lad,  would  naturally  seem 
young,  especially  in  view  of  his  great  responsibilities  in 
being  set  over  so  many  elders. 

Equally  groundless  is  the  objection  that  Paul  had  pre- 
dicted to  the  Ephesian  elders  that  he  should  see  their  face 
no  more,  whereas  this  epistle  implies  that  he  had  recently 
paid  them  another  visit.^  For  the  words  quoted  contain 
the  expression  of  a  presentiment  or  at  most  of  a  convic- 
tion, not  of  an  inspired  prophecy,  on  the  part  of  the 
apostle  ;  and,  besides,  the  language  of  this  epistle,  "  as  I 
exhorted  thee  to  tarry  at  Ephesus,  when  I  was  going  into 
Macedonia,"  ^  does  not  necessarily  imply  that  the  writer 
himself  had  been  at  Ephesus,     It  is  quite  possible  he  may 

^  I  Tim.  i.  2:  "Grace,  mercy,  peace,  oiKeri,  /jltjttccs,   ISov,  arc  not  found  in 

from  God  the  Father  and  Christ  Jesus  the  Pastoral  Epistles, 
our    Lord."     So   2   Tim.   i.    2,    but   in  3  [y    j^. 

Titus  i.  4  (R.V. )  we  find  the  usual  form  ■*  Acts  xx.  25. 

"  Grace  and  peace  ..."  ^  i.  3- 

'^  &pa,      5id,      t'TTfiTtt,      uiffTrep,      'in, 


192  Ne7J0  Testament  and  Its  Writers.  xvii. 

have  exhorted  Timothy  by  a  message  from  a  distance,  or 
have  met  him  at  Miletus  as  he  had  met  the  Ephesian 
elders  several  years  before. 

Again  it  has  been  argued  that  the  instructions  contained 
in  this  epistle  might  have  been  more  easily  given  by  the 
apostle  in  person  during  his  recent  visit  to  Ephesus,  or  on 
the  subsequent  visit  to  which  he  was  still  looking  forward.^ 
But  this  latter  visit  was  evidently  regarded  by  the  apostle 
as  very  uncertain  ;  while  the  former  one,  as  we  have  seen, 
is  a  very  doubtful  inference.  Even  if  it  be  true,  however, 
that  the  apostle  had  recently  been  at  Ephesus,  there  is 
nothing  improbable  in  the  supposition  that  it  was  in  con- 
sequence of  what  he  then  learned  of  the  condition  of  the 
Church,  and  as  the  result  of  subsequent  reflection,  that  he 
was  led  to  furnish  Timothy  with  these  rules  and  directions 
in  a  written  form,  which  might  be  of  permanent  service, 
and,  if  necessary,  be  referred  to  in  the  hearing  of  the 
congregation. 

2.    The  Reader. 

"  Unto  Timothy,  my  true  child  in  faith."  The  disciple 
thus  addressed  was  one  of  the  apostle's  converts,  and 
became  his  dearest  friend  and  coadjutor  in  the  closing 
years  of  his  life.  Of  a  pious  Jewish  family  by  the  mother's 
side — his  father  was  a  Greek — he  received  a  strict  religious 
training  in  the  scriptures  of  the  Old  Testament.^  He 
seems  to  have  been  converted  to  Christianity  during  Paul's 

liii.  14,  15:  "These  things  write   I  parts:  for  they  all  knew  that  his  father 

unto  thee,   hoping  to  come  unto  thee  was  a  Greek ";  2  Tim.  i.  2 :  "to  Timothy, 

shortly;  but  if  I  tarry  long,  that  thou  my   beloved   child";  ver.  5:   "having 

mayest  know  how  men  ought  to  behave  been  reminded   of  the  unfeigned  faith 

themselves  in  the  house  of  God."  that  is  in  thee  ;  which  dwelt  first  in  thy 

2Acts  xvi.  1-3:  "  And  he  came  also  to  grandmother  Lois,  and  thy  mother 
Derbeand  to  Lystra  :  andbehold,  acer-  Eunice;  and,  I  am  persuaded,  in  thee 
tain  disciple  was  there,  named  Timothy,  also";  2  Tim.  iii.  14,  15:  "But  abide 
the  son  of  a  Jewess  which  believed  ;  but  thou  in  the  things  which  thou  hast 
his  father  was  a  Greek.  The  same  was  learned  and  hast  been  assured  of,  know- 
well  reported  of  by  the  brethren  that  ing  of  whom  thou  hast  learned  them ; 
were  at  Lystra  and  Iconium.  Him  and  that  from  a  babe  thou  hast  known 
would  Paul  have  to  go  forth  with  him  ;  the  sacred  writings  which  are  able  to 
and  he  took  and  circumcised  him  be-  make  thee  wise  unto  salvation  through 
cause  of  the  Jews  that  were  in  those  faith  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus." 


XVII.  I  Timothy.  193 

first  visit  to  Lystra  and  Derbe ;  for  on  the  apostle's  second 
visit  to  that  quarter  about  three  years  afterwards,  Timothy 
was  a  disciple  so  well  reported  of  by  the  brethren  at  Lystra 
and  Iconium  as  to  be  deemed  worthy  of  being  associated 
with  Paul  as  a  labourer  in  the  Gospel.^  To  this  position 
he  was  duly  ordained  by  the  laying-  on  of  hands,  after 
being  circumcised  to  render  him  more  acceptable  to  the 
Jews.-  Thereafter  we  find  him  constantly  associated  with 
the  apostle  either  as  his  companion  or  as  his  delegate  to 
Churches  at  a  distance — although  his  influence  seems  to 
have  been  somewhat  weakened  by  a  certain  timidity  and 
softness  of  disposition.^  He  was  with  the  apostle  during 
his  first  imprisonment  at  Rome,  being  associated  with  him 
in  three  of  the  four  epistles  which  Paul  then  wrote.*  From 
this  epistle  we  gather  that  after  the  apostle's  release 
Timothy  was  left  for  a  time  in  charge  of  the  Church  at 
Ephesus  ;  and  it  was  while  in  this  trying  and  responsible 
position  that  he  received  the  two  epistles  that  bear  his 
name. 

3.  Date  and  Place  of  Composition. 
This  epistle  seems  to  have  been  sent  to  Timothy  from 
Macedonia  under  the  circumstances  referred  to  in  the  first 

1  Actsxvi.  1-3  (quoted  p.  192)  ;  i  Tim.  •*  i  Cor.  iv.  17:  "  For  this  cause  have 
i.  2:  "unto  Timothy,  my  true  child  in  I  sent  unto  you  Timothy,  who  is  my 
faith"  ;  2  Tim.  iii.  10,  11:  "But  thou  beloved  and  faithful  child  in  the  Lord, 
didst  follow  my  teaching,  conduct,  pur-  who  shall  put  you  in  rememljrance  of 
pose,  faith,  longsuffering,  love,  patience,  my  ways  which  be  in  Christ,  even  as  I 
persecutions,  sufferings ;  what  things  teach  everywhere  in  every  church "  ; 
befell  me  at  Antioch,  at  Iconium,  at  xvi.  10,  11  :  "Now  if  Timothy  come, 
Lystra  ;  what  persecutions  I  endured  :  see  that  he  be  with  you  without  fear  ; 
and  out  of  them  all  the  Lord  delivered  for  he  worketh  the  work  of  the  Lord,  as 
me."     Cf.  Acts  xiv.  8-23.  I  also  do  :  let  no  man  therefore  despise 

2  Acts  xvi.  3  (quoted  above)  ;  i  Tim.  him.  But  set  him  forward  on  his  jour- 
iv.  14:  "Neglect  not  the  gift  that  is  ney  in  peace,  that  he  may  come  unto 
in  thee,  which  was  given  thee  by  pro-  me  :  for  I  expect  him  with  the  breth- 
phecy,  with  the  laying  on  of  the  hands  ren."  Cf.  the  earnest  personal  exhorta- 
of  the  presbytery  "  ;  vi.  12  :  "  Fight  the  tions  addressed  to  him  in  these  epistles 
good  fight  of  the  faith,  lay  hold  on  the  (i  Tim.  iv.  14-16  ;  vi.  20  ;  2  Tim.  i.  14  ; 
life  eternal,  whcreunto  thou  wast  called,  ii.  1-7;  iv.  i,  2,  5). 

and  didst  confess  the   good  confession  ■•  Philippians  i.    i ;    Colossians   i.    i  ; 

in  the  sight  of  many  witnesses  "  ;  2  Tim.  Philemon    i.     Also  in   the  two  earliest 

i.  6:  "For  the  which  cause  I  put  thee  epistles  of  St.  Paul,  viz. ,  i  and  2  Thessa- 

in   remembrance   that  thou  stir  up  the  lonians. 
gift  of  God,  which  is  in  thee  through 
the  laying  on  of  my  hands." 

N 


194  Neiv  Testament  and  Its  Writers.  xvii. 

chapter  ;^  but  whether  before  or  after  Paul's  intended  visits 
to  Philippi,  Colossae,  and  Spain — which,  according  to  an 
ancient  tradition  originating  in  the  first  century,  he  did 
visit — it  is  quite  impossible  to  say.^  Various  routes  have 
been  sketched  by  which  Paul  may  have  travelled  after 
his  release  from  Rome,  comprising  visits  to  the  places 
just  mentioned  and  also  to  Ephesus,  Crete,  Nicopolis, 
and  Troas  ;  but  they  are  all  more  or  less  conjectural.^ 
While  it  is  impossible  to  ascertain  the  precise  move- 
ments of  the  apostle  after  his  release,  or  the  exact  year 
in  which  this  epistle  was  written,  we  may  safely  place 
its  composition  between  64  A.D.,  the  year  after  Paul's 
release,  and  6^  A.D.,  shortly  before  his  death, — the  date 
usually  assigned  to  the  latter  event  being  68  A.D.,  the  last 
year  of  Nero,  under  whom,  according  to  the  general  tra- 
dition, Paul  suffered  martyrdom.  The  most  probable  date 
for  the  epistle  is  Gy  A.D.,  which  gives  an  interval  of  several 
years  to  account  for  the  change  in  the  apostle's  style  and 
in  the  condition  of  the  Church,  and  makes  the  three 
Pastoral  Epistles  very  nearly  contemporaneous. 

4.  Its  Character  and  Contents. 

These  have  been  already  indicated  in  the  general  re- 
marks on  the  Pastoral  Epistles  (p.  i86_^.).  The  letter 
is  partly  official,  partly  personal.  While  addressed  to 
Timothy  individually,  it  contains  Paul's  apostolic  instruc- 
tions to  guide  him  in  the  work  of  supervision  assigned  to 

1  i.  3,  4  :  "  As  I  exhorted  thee  to  tarry  unto  you  "  ;  Rom.  xv.  24:  "  Whenso- 
at  Ephesus,  when  I  was  going  into  ever  I  go  unto  Spain  (for  I  hope  to  see 
Macedonia,  that  thou  mightest  charge  you  in  my  journey,  and  to  be  brought 
certain  men  not  to  teach  a  different  on  my  way  thitherward  by  you,  if  first 
doctrine,  neither  to  give  heed  to  fables  in  some  measure  I  shall  have  been 
and  endless  genealogies,  the  which  satisfied  with  your  company)." 
minister  questionings,  rather  than  a  3  Titus  i.  5  :"  For  this  cause  left  I  thee 
dispensation  of  God  which  is  in  faith  ;  in  Crete"  ;  Titus  iii.  12  :  "Give diligence 
so  do  I  now."  to  come  unto  me  to  Nicopolis  :  for  there 

2  Phil.  ii.  24  :  "  But  I  trust  in  the  Lord  I  have  determined  to  winter  "  ;  2  Tim. 
that  I  myself  also  shall  come  shortly  "  ;  iv.  13  :  "  The  cloke  that  I  left  at  Troas 
Philemon,  ver.  22  :  "  But  withal  prepare  with  Carpus,  bring  when  thou  comest, 
me  also  a  lodging :  for  I  hope  that  and  the  books,  especially  the  parch- 
through  your  prayers  I  shall  be  granted  nients." 


XVII.  I   Timothy.  195 

him  at  Ephesus.i  The  anticipations  of  evil  which  Paul 
had  expressed  to  the  Ephesian  elders  at  Miletus-  had 
already  in  some  measure  been  realised,  and  there  was  great 
need  for  wisdom  in  the  rulers  of  the  Church.  It  is  not 
easy  to  trace  any  regular  sequence  in  the  topics  discussed  ; 
but  the  contents  of  the  epistle  may  be  summarised  as 
follows  : — 

The  folly  and  danger  of  the  Judaic  fancies  with  which 
false  teachers  were  overlaying  the  Gospel  (chapter  i.)  ; 
exhortations  to  catholicity  of  spirit  as  well  as  to  reverence 
and  decorum  in  acts  of  worship  (ii.) ;  the  qualifications 
requisite  in  the  office-bearers  of  the  Ghurch  (bishops  and 
deacons),  and  the  need  for  fidelity  and  care  on  their  part 
in  view  of  the  increasing  corruption  (iii.) ;  counsels  re- 
garding Timothy's  treatment  of  the  elders  and  other  classes 
in  the  congregation  (iv.,  v.)  ;  cautions  against  covetousness, 
and  exhortations  to  the  rich  to  make  a  good  use  of  their 
means — concluding  with  an  appeal  to  Timothy  to  guard 
that  which  was  committed  to  his  trust,  and  to  avoid 
"  profane  babblings  and  oppositions  of  the  knowledge  which 
is  falsely  so  called  "  (vi.). 

Although  in  some  respects  on  a  humbler  level  intellect- 
ually than  most  of  Paul's  writings,  and  bearing  traces 
of  the  writer's  advancing  years,  this  epistle  contains  not 
a  few  golden  texts  to  be  held  in  everlasting  remembrance.* 

1  i.  1-4  (quoted  p.  194,  note  i).  Christ  Jesus,  who  gave  himself  a  ransom 

2  Acts  XX.  29,  30 :  "I  know  that  after  for  all";  iii.  16:  "And  without  con- 
my  departing  grievous  wolves  shall  troversy  great  is  the  mystery  of  godli- 
enter  in  among  you,  not  sparing  the  ness;  He  who  was  manifested  in  the  flesh, 
flock;  and  from  among  your  own  selves  justified  in  the  spirit,  seen  of  angels, 
shall  men  arise,  speaking  perverse  things,  preached  among  the  nations,  believed 
to  draw  away  the  disciples  after  them."  on  in  the  world,  received  up  in  glory  "  ; 

3i.  5  :   "  But  the  end  of  the  charge  is  vi.  6  :   "  But  godliness  with  contentment 

love   out  of  a  pure  heart  and  a  good  is  great  gain";  ver.  10:   "For  the  love 

conscience  and  faith  unfeigned";   ver.  of  money  is  a  root  of  all  kinds  of  evil: 

15  :  "  Faithful  is  the  saying,  and  worthy  which  some  reaching  after  have  been  led 

of  all  acceptation,  that  Christ  Jesus  came  astray  from  the  faith,  and  have  pierced 

into  the  world  to  save  sinners  "  ;  ii.  3-6  :  themselves  through  with  many  sorrows"  ; 

"This  is   good  and  acceptable  in  the  ver.  12  :  "Fight  the  good  fight  of  the 

sight  of  God  our  Saviour  ;    who  willeth  faith,  lay  hold  on  the  life  eternal,  where- 

that  all  men  should  be  saved,  and  come  unto  thou  wast  called,  and  didst  confess 

to   the   knowledge   of  the   truth.      For  the  good  confession  in  the  sight  of  many 

there   is  one  God,   one  mediator  also  witnesses." 
between  God  and   men,   himself  man. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

TITUS — 2   TIMOTHY. 
"THE   EPISTLE   OF   PAUL   TO   TITUS." 

I.  Authorship. 

To  the  general  remarks  already  made  (p.  i^6ff.)  we  may 
add  the  following  notes  of  genuineness  : — 

(i)  The  quotation  made  from  Epimenides  ^  is  in  accord- 
ance with  the  manner  of  St.  Paul,  who  is  the  only  New 
Testament  writer  that  quotes  Iieatlien  authors."^  At  the 
same  time,  the  use  of  the  word  ^'prophet "  in  this  passage, 
as  compared  with  "poet "  in  the  quotation  reported  in  the 
Book  of  Acts,  is  against  the  supposition  of  imitation. 

(2)  The  introduction  of  such  unknown  names  as  Artemas 
and  Zenas,  as  well  as  of  Nicopolis,^  which  are  mentioned 
nowhere  else  in  the  New  Testament,  and  the  unigtie  de- 
signation of  the  apostle  himself,  *  are  at  variance  with  the 
idea  of  forgery. 

2.    The  Reader. 

"  To  Titus,  my  true  child  after  a  common  faith."  ^ 
Although  Titus  is  never  mentioned  in  the  Book  of  Acts, 
it  would  appear,  from  the  allusions  made  to  him  in  Paul's 

1  i.  12:  "  One  of  themselves,  a  pro-  3  iii.  12,  13:  "When  I  shall  send 
phet  of  their  own,  said,  Cretans  are  Artemas  unto  thee,  or  Tychicus,  give 
alway  liars,  evil  beasts,  idle  gluttons."  diligence  to  come  unto  me  to  Nicopolis  : 

2  Acts  xvii.  28  :  "  For  in  him  we  live,  for  there  I  have  determined  to  winter, 
and  move,  and  have  our  being ;  as  cer-  Set  forward  Zenas  the  lawyer  and 
tain  even  of  your  own  poets  have  said,  Apollos  on  their  journey  diligently, 
For  we  are  also  his  offspring"  (quoted  that  nothing  be  wanting  unto  them." 
from  Aratus)  ;  i  Cor.  xv.  33  :  "  Evil  ■*  i.  i  :  "  Paul,  a  servant  of  God,  and 
company  doth  corrupt  good  manners  "  an  apostle  of  Jesus  Christ." 

(quoted  from  Menander).  ^  i.  4. 


XVIII.  Tihis.  197 

epistles,  that  he  was  the  ablest  and  most  reliable  of  all 
the  friends  and  coadjutors  whom  the  apostle  had  about 
him  in  his  later  years.  As  an  uncircumcised  Gentile  who 
had  been  converted  by  Paul,  he  represented  in  his  own 
person  the  breadth  and  freedom  of  the  Gospel,  for  which 
the  apostle  had  so  zealously  and  successfully  contended. 

His  conversion  had  taken  place  at  a  comparatively  early 
period  in  the  apostle's  ministry,  for  he  accompanied  Paul 
and  Barnabas  on  their  visit  from  Antioch  to  Jerusalem  to 
vindicate  the  freedom  of  the  Gentiles  from  the  ceremonial 
law  of  the  Jews.^  We  find  him  figuring  prominently  at 
another  crisis  in  the  apostle's  ministry,  when  the  strife  and 
confusion  in  the  Corinthian  Church  threatened  to  destroy 
St.  Paul's  influence.  His  remarkable  success  in  the  difficult 
mission  then  assigned  to  him  (pp.  11 5-6),  which  called  for 
the  exercise  of  combined  firmness  and  tact,  and  from  which 
Apollos  appears  to  have  shrunk,^  marked  him  out  as  an 
able  and  trustworthy  delegate,  and  explains  his  selection 
ten  years  later  for  the  important  and  difficult  position 
which  he  temporarily  held  in  Crete  when  this  letter  was 
addressed  to  him.^ 

Of  the  state  of  the  Church  in  Crete  we  know  very  little 
except  what  may  be  gathered  from  this  epistle.  In  all 
probability  the  Gospel  had  been  first  brought  to  the 
island  by  those  of  its  inhabitants  who  witnessed  the  out- 
pouring of  the  spirit  on  the  day  of  Pentecost*  More  than 
thirty  years  had  passed  since  then,  and  there  were  now, 


1  Gal.  ii.  1-4  :  "Then  after  the  space  we  have  in  Christ  Jesus,  that  they  might 

of  fourteen  years   I   went  up  again  to  bring  us  into  bondage." 

Jerusalem  with  Barnabas,  taking  Titus  '■^  i   Cor.  xvi.  12:   "But  as  touching 

also  with  me.     And  I  went  up  by  reve-  Apollos   the   brother,   I    besought    him 

lation  ;  and  I  laid  before  them  the  gos-  much  to  come  unto  you  with  the  breth- 

pel  which  I  preach  among  the  Gentiles,  ren  :    and  it  was  not  at  all   his  will  to 

but  privately  before  them  who  were  of  come  now  ;  but  he  will  come  when  he 

repute,  lest  by  any  means  I  should  be  shall  have  opportunity." 

running,  or  had  run,  in  vain.     But  not  ^  In   the   subsequent   history   of  the 

even  Titus  who  was  with  me,  being  a  island,  Titus  has  figured  prominently  as 

Greek,   was   compelled    to   be   circum-  the  patron-saint  of  the  community, 

cised :    and   that   because   of  the  false  ■*  Acts  ii.     11:    "  Cretans    and    Ara- 

brethren  privily  brought  in,  who  came  bians,  we  do  hear   them   speaking   in 

in  privily  to  spy  out  our  liberty  which  our  tongues  the  mighty  works  of  God." 


198  New  Testavicnt  and  Its  Writers.  xviii. 

probably,  quite  a  number  of  congregations  in  the  island, 
which  was  140  miles  long  and  was  famous  for  its  hundred 
cities. 

Paul  had  been  there  once  before,  on  his  way  from 
Caesarea  to  Rome ;  but  being  a  prisoner  at  the  time  he 
could  have  had  little  or  no  opportunity  of  preaching.  It 
may  have  been  on  that  occasion,  however,  that  he  saw 
the  necessity  for  organising  the  various  congregations,  as 
he  was  now  seeking  to  do  through  the  instrumentality  of 
Titus.  It  was  a  difficult  task,  for  the  Cretans  bore  a 
bad  character.  "  Liars,  evil  beasts,  idle  gluttons,"  was  the 
description  which  had  been  given  of  them  long  before  by 
"  one  of  themselves  "  ^ — a  testimony  confirmed  by  several 
other  ancient  writers.  They  were  a  mixed  population  of 
Greeks  and  Asiatics,  with  a  considerable  infusion  of 
Jews.  To  the  influence  of  these  latter,  acting  on  native 
superstition,  the  corruption  of  Christian  doctrine,  of 
which  we  hear  in  the  epistle,  appears  to  have  been  largely 
due.2 

3.   Date  and  Place  of  Composition. 

The  striking  resemblance  of  this  epistle  to  i  Timothy 
justifies  us  in  assigning  it  to  the  same  year — say  6^  A.D. 
It  may  have  been  written  in  Asia  Minor  when  the  apostle 
was  on  his  way  to  Nicopolis. 

4.   Character  and  Cofiteiits. 

Although  addressed  to  a  friend,  this  letter,  like  i 
Timothy,  has  to  a  certain  extent  an  official  character. 
This  is  evident  from  the  greeting  :  "  Paul,  a  servant  of 
God,  and  an  apostle  of  Jesus  Christ.  .  .  ."  ^  It  was 
intended  to  furnish  Titus,  as  the  apostle's  representative  in 
Crete,  with  the  same  assistance  in  his  work  as  had  already 
been  rendered  to  Timothy.  It  would  appear  that  the 
apostle  had   heard   of  opposition   being  offered   to  Titus, 

1  Epimenides,  600  B.C.  **  i.  1-4. 

2  i.  10,  14;  iii.  9  (quoted  p.  190,  Jiote  3). 


XVIII.  Titus.  199 

and  desired  to  strengthen  his  hands  for  his  arduous 
undertaking.!  With  this  view  he  gives  him  directions  for 
the  appointment  of  properly  quahfied  presbyters  in  every 
city,-  who  should  be  able  and  willing  to  teach  "  the  sound 
doctrine,"  and  to  counteract  the  useless  and  unwarrantable 
speculations  of  a  semi-Jewish  character,  involving  endless 
controversy,  which  were  propagated  by  dishonest  self- 
seeking  teachers.  He  also  reminds  Titus  of  suitable 
exhortations  to  be  addressed  to  the  various  classes  in  the 
Church,  for  the  promotion  of  that  practical  godliness  which 
ought  to  accompany  sound  doctrine.  Titus  himself  is 
admonished  to  show  himself  in  all  things  "an  ensample  of 
good  works."  ^ 

The  epistle  contains  a  number  of  memorable  sayings, 
including  some  of  the  most  comprehensive  statements 
of  Christian  truth  to  be  found  in  the  New  Testament.* 
In  the  former  of  the  two  passages  quoted  below  we  have 
an  excellent  illustration  of  the  "doctrine  which  is  according 
to  godliness,"  that  sober-minded  union  of  faith  and  practice, 
which  is  the  ripest  fruit  of  Christianity,  and  which  forms 
the  chief  burden  of  this  most  salutary  letter.^ 

1  i.  5  :  "  For  this  cause  left  I  thee  in  all  iniquity,  and  purify  unto  himself  a 
Crete,  that  thou  shouldest  set  in  order  people  for  his  own  possession,  zealous 
the  things  that  were  wanting,  and  ap-  of  good  works";  iii.  4-7:  "  But  when 
point  elders  in  every  city,  as  I  gave  thee  the  kindness  of  God  our  Saviour,  and 
charge"  ;  vers.  10,  11  :  "  For  there  are  his  love  toward  man,  appeared,  not  by 
many  unruly  men,  vain  talkers  and  de-  works  done  in  righteousness,  which  we 
ceivers.specially  they  of  the  circumcision,  did  ourselves,  but  according  to  his 
whose  mouths  must  be  stopped. "  mercy  he  saved  us,  through  the  wash- 

2  It  is  remarkable  that  in  this  epistle  ing  of  regeneration  and  renewing  of  the 
there  is  no  mention  of  the  other  class  of  Holy  Ghost,  which  he  poured  out  upon 
office-bearers,  the  deacons,  who  figure  us  richly,  through  Jesus  Christ  our 
so  largely  in  i  Timothy.  This  would  Saviour  ;  that,  being  justified  by  his 
be  unaccountable  if  the  two  epistles  grace,  we  might  be  made  heirs  accord- 
were  cunningly  devised  forgeries  pro-  ing  to  the  hope  of  eternal  life. " 
ceeding  from  the  same  hand  in  the  ^  Luther  said  of  it :  "This  is  a  short 
interests  of  ecclesiastical  order.  epistle,  but  yet  such  a  quintessence  of 

3  ii.  7.  Christian    doctrine,  and    composed   in 
■*  ii.   11-14:    "For  the  grace  of  God        such  a  masterly  manner,  that  it  contains 

hath  appeared,  bringing  salvation  to  all  all  that  is  needful  for  Christian  know- 
men,  instructing  us,  to  the  intent  that,  ledge  and  life."  Most  of  the  character- 
denying  ungodliness  and  worldly  lusts,  istic  expressions  of  the  Pastoral  ICpistles 
we  should  live  soberly  and  righteously  are  to  lie  found  in  this  short  letter — e.g. 
and  godly  in  this  present  world;  look-  "godliness"  (eiVe^eta),  to  describe  the 
ing  for  the  blessed  hope  and  appearing  Christian  manner  of  life,  occurring  ten 
of  the  glory  of  our  great  God  and  times  in  these  epistles  and  five  times  in 
Saviour  Jesus  Christ  ;  who  gave  himself  the  rest  of  the  New  Testament  ;  "the 
for  us,   that  he  might  redeem  us  from  faith  "  {r\  -irlffTis)  in  a  doctrinal  sense  (</. 


200 


Neiu  Testament  and  Its  Writers. 


XVIII. 


The  epistle  concludes  with  some  allusions  to  personal 
matters,  in  the  course  of  which  Paul  bids  Titus  come  to 
him  at  Nicopolis  as  soon  as  Artemas  or  Tychicus  has 
arrived  to  relieve  him.i  This  is  scarcely  consistent  with  the 
view  maintained  by  some  Episcopalian  writers  that  Titus 
held  a  permanent  official  position  in  the  island. 


"THE   SECOND   EPISTLE   OF   PAUL   THE   APOSTLE   TO 
TIMOTHY." 

I.  A2ithorship. 

In  several  passages  this  epistle  bears  the  stamp  of  genuine- 
ness as  a  writing  of  St.  Paul.-     In  particular,   the  opening 


"  the  deposit,"  irapad-^Kr)  of  i  Tim.  vi. 
20,  2  Tim.  I.  14);  "our  Saviour"  (6 
cruTTJp  ijfJLuiv),  more  frequent  in  these 
epistles  than  in  all  the  rest  of  the  New 
Testament,  and  chiefiy  in  Titus;  ' '  sound" 
or  healthy  {vyiawo'uffri  5i5a<TKa\iq.,\6yov 
vyi^,  &c.),  applied  to  doctrine,  faith, 
speech,  and  in  this  sense  more  frequent  in 
Titus  than  in  any  other  book  of  the  New 
Testament  (f/.  ^Titus  ii.  7:  iv  t^  dt.5a.a- 
Ka\ig.d(p9opiav,  "in  thy  doctrine  uncor- 
ruptness";  i  Tim.  vi.  4:  voaQv  irepl 
^TjTT/crets,  "  doting  about  questionings  "  ; 
2  Tim.  ii.  17:  6  \6yos  avrQv  d)j  70.7- 
ypaiva  vop.y)v  e^ei,  "  their  word  will  eat 
as  doth  a  gangrene")  ;  "  sober-minded" 
((Tihcppujv — in  various  forms)  occurring 
chiefly  in  these  epistles  and  mostly  in 
Titus;  "good  works"  (koKQiv  epyuiv) 
peculiar  to  Titus,  in  which  it  occurs 
si.x  times,  while  the  word  «:aXos  is  used 
by  St.  Paul  no  less  than  seventeen  times 
in  I  Timothy,  and  only  sixteen  times  in 
all  his  other  epistles. 

liii.  12-15. 

2  i.  5-18  :  "having  been  reminded  of 
the  unfeigned  faith  that  is  in  thee  ; 
which  dwelt  first  in  thy  grandmother 
Lois,  and  thy  mother  Eunice  ;  and,  I  am 
persuaded,  in  thee  also.  For  the  which 
cause  I  put  thee  in  remembrance  that 
thou  stir  up  the  gift  of  God,  which  is  in 
thee  through  the  laying  on  of  my  hands. 
For  God  gave  us  not  a  spirit  of  fear- 
fulness  ;  but  of  power  and  love  and 
discipline.     Be  not   ashamed   therefore 


of  the  testimony  of  our  Lord,  nor  of  me 
his  prisoner :  but  suffer  hardship  with 
the  gospel  according  to  the  power  of 
God  ;  who  saved  us,  and  called  us  with 
a  holy  calling,  not  according  to  our 
w  orks,  but  according  to  his  own  purpose 
and  grace,  which  was  given  us  in  Christ 
Jesus  before  times  eternal,  but  hath  now 
been  manifested  by  the  appearing  of 
our  Saviour  Christ  Jesus,  who  abolished 
death,  and  brought  life  and  incorruption 
to  light  through  the  gospel,  whereunto 
I  was  appointed  a  preacher,  and  an 
apostle,  and  a  teacher.  For  the  which 
cause  I  suffer  also  these  things  :  yet  I  am 
not  ashamed  ;  for  I  know  him  whom  I 
have  believed,  and  I  am  persuaded  that 
he  is  able  to  guard  that  which  I  have 
committed  unto  him  against  that  day. 
Hold  the  pattern  of  sound  words  which 
thou  hast  heard  from  me,  in  faith  and 
love  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus.  That 
good  thing  which  was  committed  unto 
thee  guard  through  the  Holy  Ghost 
which  dwelleth  in  us.  This  thou 
knowest,  that  all  that  are  in  Asia  turned 
away  from  me  ;  of  whom  are  Phygelus 
and  Hermogenes.  The  Lord  grant 
mercy  unto  the  house  of  Onesiphorus  : 
for  he  oft  refreshed  me,  and  was  not 
ashamed  of  my  chain  ;  but,  when  he 
was  in  Rome,  he  sought  me  diligently, 
and  found  me  (the  Lord  grant  unto 
him  to  find  mercy  of  the  Lord  in  that 
day) ;  and  in  how  many  things  he 
ministered  at  Ephesus,  thou  knowest 
very  well";  iv.  g-22  :  "Do  thy  dili- 
gence to    come  shortly  unto   me :    for 


XVIII.  2  Timothy.  201 

thanksgiving^  is  characteristic  of  Paul,  eight  of  his  other 
letters  having  a  similar  commencement,  which  is  not  to 
be  found  in  any  of  the  other  epistles  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment. At  the  same  time,  this  is  not  such  a  prominent 
feature  as  to  lead  to  imitation  ;  and,  as  a  matter  of  fact, 
it  is  not  found  in  the  two  other  Pastoral  Epistles.- 

A  strong  proof  of  genuineness  is  afforded  by  the  proper 
7ianies  (of  Church-members)  in  the  epistle.  They  are  twenty- 
three  in  number,  including  ten  mentioned  elsewhere, 
exclusive  of  Paul  and  Timothy.  In  connection  with  several 
of  these  ten  remarks  are  made  which  a  forger  would  have 
been  very  unlikely  to  invent.  For  example,  "  Demas  for- 
sook me,  having  loved  this  present  world,"  ^  is  more  like 
what  we  should  have  expected  to  find  related  of  Mark,  in 
view  of  his  former  desertion  of  Paul  f  whereas  we  find 
favourable  mention  of  him  in  this  epistle.^  Dalmatia  is  also 
a  strange  place  to  have  invented  as  a  destination  for  Titus,^ 
considering  that  he  had  been  written  to  so  recently  at 
Crete — although  it  fits  in  with  the  summons  to  Nicopolis 
which  had  been  previously  addressed  to  him.'^  A  striking 
argument   has  been  derived  from    the  occurrence  of  the 

Demas  forsook  me,  having   loved  this  at    Corinth  :    but  Trophimus   I  left   at 

present  world,and  went  to  Thessalonica;  Miletus  sick.     Do  thy  diligence  to  come 

Crescens  to  Galatia,  Titus  to  Dalmatia.  before  winter.     Eubulus  saluteth  thee, 

Only  Luke   is  with   me.     Take  Mark,  and  Pudens,  and  Linus,  and  Claudia 

and   bring   him  with   thee :    for   he   is  and   all   the   brethren.     The    Lord   be 

useful    to     me    for    ministering.       But  with  thy  spirit.     Grace  be  with  you." 

Tychicus  I  sent  to  Ephesus.     The  cloke  ^  i.  3  :  "I  thank  God,  whom   I  serve 

that  1  left  at  Troas  with  Carpus,  bring  from  my  forefathers  in  a  pure  conscience, 

when    thou    comest,    and    the    books,  how  unceasing  is  my  remembrance  of 

especially  the  parchments.     Alexander  thee  in  my  supplications,  night  and  day 

the  coppersmith  did  me  much  evil :  the  longing  to  see  thee." 

Lord  will  render  to  him  according  to  2  Galatians  and  2  Corinthians  are  also 

his  works  :  of  whom  be  thou  ware  also  ;  exceptions.      The  latter  begins  with  an 

for  he  greatly  withstood  our  words.     At  ascription  of  praise  (i.  3,  4),  but  without 

my  first  defence  no  one  took  my  part,  reference  to  any  matter  for  thankfulness 

but  all  forsook  me  :  may  it  not  be  laid  in  the  spiritual  life  of  the  readers. 

to  their  account.     But  the  Lord  stood  ^  iy.  10  ;  cf.  Col.  iv.  14  :   "  Luke,  the 

by    me,    and   strengthened    me ;    that  beloved    physician,    and  Demas  salute 

through  me  the  message  might  be  fully  you." 

proclaimed,  and  that   all  the   Gentiles  •»  Acts   xiii.    13   "and  John  departed 

might  hear:  and  I  was  delivered  out  of  from  them  and  returned  to  Jerusalem." 

the  mouth  of  the  lion.     The  Lord  will  ^  iv.  11  (quoted  above). 

deliver  me  from  every   evil  work,  and  ^  iv.  10  (quoted  above). 

will  save  me  unto  his  heavenly  kingdom  :  7  Titus    iii.    12:     "give   diligence  to 

to  \\hom  be  the  glory  for  ever  and  ever.  come  unto  me  to  Nicopolis  :  for  there  1 

Amen.     Salute  I'risca  and  Aquila,  and  have  determined  to  winter." 

the  house  of  Onesiphorus.  Erastus  abode 


202  Neiu  Testament  and  Its  Writers.         xviii. 

name  Linus  in  the  closing  salutations.^  The  argument  is 
based  on  the  fact  that  Linus,  Cletus,  and  Clement  are  the 
names  of  the  first  three  "  bishops  "  of  the  Church  of  Rome, 
preserved  in  her  Eucharistic  Service,  dating  from  the 
second  century.  If  the  epistle  had  been  written  in  the 
post-apostolic  age,  Linus,  it  is  held,  would  have  been  sure 
to  receive  a  more  prominent  place  in  the  list  of  salutations, 
and  his  name  would  have  been  accompanied  with  that  of 
Cletus,  or  at  all  events  with  that  of  Clement,  as  the  latter 
was  believed  to  have  been  an  immediate  disciple  of  Paul.- 

Altogether,  the  personal  details  contained  in  this  epistle, 
especially  in  its  closing  chapter,  are  so  unusually  abundant, 
that  it  would  have  been  comparatively  easy  of  detection  if 
it  had  been  a  forgery.  As  it  is,  the  marks  of  genuineness 
are  so  numerous  and  striking,  and  there  is  such  a  tone  of 
sincerity  and  earnestness  running  through  the  whole 
epistle,  that  it  is  accepted  by  many  critics  who  reject  its 
two  companions.  But  as  the  main  objections  to  the  latter, 
on  the  score  of  their  novel  language  and  teaching,  and 
their  want  of  correspondence  with  the  Book  of  Acts,  apply 
equally  to  2  Timothy,  it  is  generally  admitted  that  the 
three  epistles  must  stand  or  fall  together.  Hence  any 
argument  for  the  Pauline  authorship  of  this  epistle  has  a 
reflex  influence  on  that  of  the  two  others. 

2.    The  Reader. 
"To  Timothy,  my  beloved  child."  ^     (See  p.  192.) 

^  iv.  21  (quoted  on  previous  page).  Epistles    of    the    Imprisonment     (Acts 

-  The      closing       salutations      from  xix.    29  ;  xx.  4  ;  xxvii.  2  ;  Col.    iv.   10  ; 

''  Eubulus,  and  Pudens,  and  Linus,  and  Philemon,  ver. 24).   Perhaps  Aristarchus' 

Claudia,  and  all  the  brethren  "  present  death     may    account    for    the    silence 

a  seeming  inconsistency  with  the  state-  regarding   him.      It    is  also  worthy  of 

ment  in  iv.    11:    "Only  Luke  is  with  notice  that  greeting  is  sent  to  "the  house 

me,"  which  a  forger  would  have  taken  of  Onesiphorus"  (iv.    19),  not  to  Onesi- 

care    to     avoid.        But     on     a     closer  phorus  himself,  which  falls  in  with  i.  16- 

view   we   see   that    the  context   in    the  18  (see  p.  203,  wo/t' i),  on  the  supposition 

latter     case    relates     only     to      Paul's  that  Onesiphorus  had  recently  died,  or 

missionary  associates.     The  omission  in  was   on   his   way   to   the   East.     Some 

this  passage  of  any  reference  to   Aris-  such   explanation  a  forger  would  have 

tarchus  shows  that  the  writer  was  not  been  pretty  sure  to  offer, 

taking  his  cue   from  the  Acts,  or   the  >*  i.  2. 


XVIII.  2  Timothy.  20; 


3.   Date  and  Place  of  Composition. 

From  expressions  in  the  epistle,^  it  is  evident  that  it 
was  written  by  Paul  while  a  prisoner  at  Rome.  That  it  was 
a  different  imprisonment  from  that  mentioned  in  the  Book 
of  Acts  may  be  inferred  from  the  general  considerations 
already  adduced  (p.  187),  and  more  particularly  from  the 
apostle's  anticipation  of  a  fatal  result  as  compared  with  his 
expectation  of  release  in  Philippians  and  Philemon.^  There 
are  several  other  circumstances,  however,  which  lead  us  to 
the  same  conclusion,  (i)  The  difference  between  Paul's 
position  during  his  first  imprisonment,^  and  at  the  time  he 
wrote  this  epistle.'*  (2)  The  absence  of  Timothy,  Demas, 
and  Mark,^  of  whom  the  first-named  is  associated  with 
the  apostle  in  the  epistles  to  Philippians,  Colossians,  and 
Philemon,  and  the  two  latter  are  mentioned  in  Colossians 
as  sending  salutations.*^  (3)  The  statement  in  this  epistle, 
"  Erastus  abode  at  Corinth  ;  but  Trophimus  I  left  at 
Miletus  sick." "'  For  in  the  apostle's  last  recorded  journey 
to  Jerusalem  Trophimus  was  not  left  at  Miletus,  but  went 

1  i.  8  :  "Be  not  ashamed  therefore  of  two  whole  years  in  his  own  hired  dwell- 

the  testimony  of  our  Lord,  nor  of  me  ing,  and  received  all  that  went  in  unto 

his  prisoner  :  but  suffer  hardship  with  him,   preaching  the  kingdom  of  God, 

the  gospel  according   to  the  power  of  and  teaching  the  things  concerning  the 

God";    15-18:    "This    thou    knowest,  Lord   Jesus   Christ   with   all  boldness, 

that  all  that  are  in  Asia  turned  away  none  forbidding  him  "  ;  Phil.  i.  12-14 : 

from  me;  of  whom  are  Phygelus  and  "  Now  I  would  have  you  know,  brethren, 

Hermogenes.     The  Lord  grant  mercy  that  the  things  which  happened  unto 

unto  the  house  of  Onesiphorus  :  for  he  me  have  fallen  out  rather  unto  the  pro- 

oft  refreshed  me,  and  was  not  ashamed  gress  of  the  gospel ;  so  that  my  bonds 

of  my  chain ;    but,    when    he    was  in  became  manifest  in  Christ  throughout 

Rome,    he  sought  me    diligently,   and  the  whole  praetorian  guard,  and  to  all 

found  me  (the  Lord  grant  unto  him  to  the  rest ;  and  that  most  of  the  brethren 

find  mercy  of  the  Lord  in  that  day)  ;  and  in  the    Lord,   being  confident   through 

in  how  many  things  he  ministered  at  my  bonds,  are  more  abundantly  bold  to 

Ephesus,  thou  knowest  very  well."  speak  the  word  of  God  without  fear." 

'•2  iv.   6-8:   "For  lam  already  being  •*  ii.    9:    "wherein  I  suffer   hardship 

offered,  and  the  time  of  my  departure  is  unto  bonds,   as  a  malefactor;    but  the 

come.      I  have  fought  the  good  fight,  I  word  of  God  is  not  bound  "  ;  i.   15-17 

have  finished  the  course,  I  have  kept  the  ((juoted  above,   note  i) ;    iv.    16:     "  .-^t 

faith  :    henceforth  there   is  laid  up   for  my  first  defence  no  one  took  my  part, 

me  the  crown  of  righteousness,  which  but  all  forsook  me :  may  it  not  be  laid 

the  Lord,  the  righteous  judge,  shall  give  to  their  account." 
to  me  at  that  day  :  and  not  only  to  me,  ^  p.  202,  note  2. 

but  also  to  all  them  that  have  loved  his  "  Col.  iv.  10,  14. 

appearing."  ^  iv.  20. 

■'  Acts  xxviii.  30,  31 :  "And  he  abode 


204  New  Testament  and  Its  Writers.         xviii. 

with  the  apostle  all  the  way  to  Jerusalem  ;  ^  and  as  for 
Erastus'  stay  in  Corinth,  we  know  that  Timothy  was  one 
of  Paul's  companions^  during  the  same  journey,  after  the 
apostle's  last  recorded  visit  to  Greece,  and  could  not  have 
required  to  be  informed  that  "  Erastus  abode  in  Corinth,"  if 
that  had  been  the  occasion  referred  to.  In  his  subsequent 
voyage  from  Caesarea  to  Rome,  as  recorded  in  the  closing 
chapters  of  Acts,  it  is  certain  that  the  apostle  visited  neither 
Miletus  nor  Corinth.  (4)  The  request  here  made  to 
Timothy:  "The  cloke  that  I  left  at  Troas  with  Carpus, 
bring  when  thou  comest,  and  the  books,  especially  the 
parchments."  ^  For  there  was  an  interval  of  several  years 
between  Paul's  last  recorded  visit  to  Troas  and  his  first 
imprisonment  at  Rome.  A  subsequent  visit,  however, 
after  his  release,  would  fit  in  with  the  fresh  journey  from 
Miletus  to  Corinth  which  seems  to  be  implied  in  the 
remark  above  made  (3). 

We  may  add  that  a  second  imprisonment  was  in  itself 
not  at  all  unlikely  after  the  great  fire  in  64  A.D.,  when  the 
Christian  religion  was  put  under  the  ban  ;  and  the  apostle 
had  no  lack  of  enemies  to  give  information  against  him,* 
If  we  are  right  in  dating  the  first  epistle  6"]  A.D.,  we  may 
assign  this  one  to  67-68  A.D. 

4.   Character  and  Contents. 
We  have  here  the  apostle's  last  will  and  testament  in 

1  Acts  XX.  1-4  :  "...  And  when  he  that  it  was  at  Troas  Paul  was  arrested 
had  gone  through  those  parts,  and  had  before  being  carried  a  prisoner  for  the 
given  them  much  exhortation,  he  came  second  time  to  Rome,  and  that  it  was 
into  Greece.  And  when  he  had  spent  during  his  detention  at  Ephesus,  after  his 
three  months  there,  and  a  plot  was  laid  arrest,  that  he  experienced  the  kindness 
against  him  by  the  Jews,  as  he  was  of  Onesiphorus  to  which  he  alludes  in 
about  to  set  sail  for  Syria,  he  determined  2  Tim.  i.  18.  The  same  writer  also  draws 
to  return  through  Macedonia.  And  an  interesting  parallel  between  this  re- 
there  accompanied  him  as  far  as  Asia  quest  of  the  apostle  for  his  cloke, 
Sopater  of  Bercea,  .  .  .  and  Timothy  ;  books,  and  parchments,  and  that  of  our 
andof  Asia,  Tychicus  and  Trophimus"  ;  English  martyr,  William  Tyndale, 
ver.  15:  "  and  the  day  after  we  came  to  when,  writing  from  his  prison  at  Vil- 
Miletus";  xxi.  29:  "For  they  had  voorde,  he  begs  that  if  he  is  to  remain 
before  seen  with  him  in  the  city  (i.e.  there  for  the  winter,  he  may  have  some 
Jerusalem)  Trophimus  the  Ephesian,  warmer  clothes  sent  him,  and  also  his 
whom  they  supposed  that  Paul  had  "  Hebrew  Bible,  grammar,  and  vocabu- 
brought  into  the  temple."  lary. " 

'■^  Acts  XX.  1-4  (see  previous  note).  *  E.g.  iv.    14:   "Alexander  the  cop- 

2  iv.13.  From  this  passage  Farrar  infers        persmith  did  me  much  evil." 


XVIII.  2  Timothy.  205 

favour  of  the  Church,  in  the  form  of  a  farewell  charge  to 
his  beloved  child  Timothy.  He  still  hoped  to  see  him  once 
again,  and  repeatedly  urges  him  to  do  his  best  to  come  to 
him  shortly — "  before  winter,"  while  navigation  is  still 
practicable.^  His  yearning  for  Timothy's  society  in  his 
lonely  prison  reminds  us  of  our  Lord's  desire  for  the  sym- 
pathy and  prayers  of  His  disciples  on  the  eve  of  His 
Passion  ;  and  in  this  epistle,  as  in  our  Lord's  teaching 
during  the  week  preceding  His  death,  there  is  blended 
with  a  sublime  confidence  in  the  speaker's  own  future,  dark 
foreboding  of  approaching  trial  and  temptation  for  the 
Church.  He  warns  Timothy  of  the  "  grievous  times " 
to  come,^  and  exhorts  him  to  adhere  steadfastly  to  the 
teaching  he  had  received  from  the  apostle  on  the  found- 
ation of  the  Scripture  "  inspired  of  God,"  and  to  take 
security  for  such  teaching  being  continued  by  "  faithful 
men  who  shall  be  able  to  teach  others  also " — bidding 
Timothy  emulate  his  own  example  in  the  endurance  of 
hardship  and  in  the  practice  of  self-denial  for  the  sake  of 
the  Gospel. 

A  peculiarity  of  this  as  of  the  other  Pastoral  Epistles  is 
the  introduction  of  short  and  weighty  statements  with  the 
words,  "  Faithful  is  the  saying."  In  one  of  these  passages 
we  have  what  is  probably  part  of  a  Christian  hymn,  ex- 
pressing the  faith  in  which  the  apostle  would  have  Timothy 
to  meet  his  trials.^ 

1  iv.  9,  21:  "Do  thy  diligence  to  live  with  him:  if  ue  endure,  we  shall 
come  shortly  unto  me.  .  .  .  Do  thy  also  reign  with  him  :  if  we  shall  deny 
diligence  to  come  before  winter. "  him,   he  also  will  deny  us:    if  we  are 

2  iii.  I.  faithless,    he  abideth   faithful ;    for   he 

3  ii.  11-13  :  "  Faithful  is  the  saying  :  cannot  deny  himself." 
For  if  we  died  with  him,  we  shall  also 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

"  THE   EPISTLE   OF   PAUL   THE   APOSTLE   TO   THE 
HEBREWS." 

I.  Authorship. 

The  authorship  of  this  epistle  cannot  be  determined  with 
any  degree  of  certainty.^  The  earliest  witness  on  the  subject 
is  Pantaenus  of  Alexandria,  in  the  latter  half  of  the  second 
century,  who  assigned  the  epistle,  as  Eusebius  tells  us,  to 
the  apostle  Paul.  In  keeping  with  this  opinion  we  find 
that  the  Eastern  Church  generally  regarded  it  as  the  work 
of  Paul ;  but  some  of  the  most  learned  of  its  bishops  and 
teachers  were  constrained  by  internal  evidence  to  depart 
somewhat  from  the  traditional  view.  Their  idea  was  that 
Paul  might  have  written  the  original,  and  one  of  his  dis- 
ciples have  translated  it  into  Greek  ;  ^  or  that  the  apostle 
might  have  supplied  the  thoughts,  and  some  disciple  have 
put  them  into  words.  In  this  sense  Origen  maintains  that 
the  thoughts  were  worthy  of  the  apostle,  but  "  who  it  was 
that  wrote  the  epistle,  God  only  knows  certainly."  ^ 

The  opinion  of  the  Western  Church  was  for  a  long  time 

1  In  this  connection  Prof.  Bruce  re-  corded  from  memory  the  apostle's 
marks:  "  It  seems  fitting  that  the  author  teaching,  and,  as  it  were,  illustrated 
of  an  epistle  which  begins  by  virtually  with  a  brief  commentary  the  sayings  of 
proclaiming  God  as  the  only  speaker  in  his  master.  If  then  any  church  hold 
Scripture,  and  Jesus  Christ  as  the  one  this  epistle  to  be  Paul's,  let  it  be 
speaker  in  the  New  Testament,  should  approved  for  so  doing  ;  for  it  was  not 
himself  retire  out  of  sight  into  the  back-  without  good  reason  that  the  men  of 
ground  "  (Expositor  1888).  old     times    have    handed    it    down    as 

2  This  is  the  view  taken  by  Clement  Paul's.  But  who  it  was  that  wrote  the 
of  Alexandria,  who  says  that  Paul  wrote  epistle,  God  only  knows  certainly.  The 
the  epistle  in  Hebrew  and  that  it  was  accountwhich  has  reached  us  is  two-fold, 
translated  by  Luke.  some  saying  that  Clement,  who  became 

2  "If  I   were   to  express    my    own  Bishop  of  Rome,  wrote  it,  while  others 

opinion  I  should  say  that  the  thoughts  assign   it   to    Luke  the  author   of   the 

are  the  apostle's,  but  the  diction  and  Gospel  and  the  Acts,"     (Euseb.  H.E. 

composition  that  of  some  one  who  re-  vi.  25). 


XIX.  Hebrezvs. 


207 


adverse  to  the  Pauline  authorship.  Clement  of  Rome,  who 
wrote  before  the  close  of  the  first  century,  frequently  quotes 
the  epistle,  but  never  claims  for  it  the  authority  of  Paul. 
If  he  believed  that  the  epistle  was  written  by  Paul,  it  is 
difficult  to  account  for  the  ignorance  of  the  Roman  Church 
on  the  subject  in  succeeding  generations — all  the  more 
so  because  of  the  connection  of  the  epistle  with  Italy.^  It 
was  not  till  the  close  of  the  fourth  century,  and  in  spite  of 
its  traditions  to  the  contrary,  that  the  Western  Church 
accepted  the  epistle  as  a  writing  of  Paul's.- 

Even  if  the  external  testimony  in  favour  of  the  Pauline 
authorship  were  much  stronger  than  it  is,  a  study  of  the 
style  and  structure  of  the  book  would  compel  us  to  adopt 
a  different  view.  Instead  of  the  rugged,  impetuous,  and 
occasionally  disjointed  style  of  the  apostle,  we  have  here 
polished  diction  and  carefully  -  constructed  sentences. 
"  The  movement  of  this  writer  resembles  that  of  an  ori- 
ental sheikh  with  his  robes  of  honour  wrapped  around 
him  ;  the  movement  of  St,  Paul  is  that  of  an  athlete 
girded  for  the  race.  The  eloquence  of  this  writer,  even 
when  it  is  at  its  most  majestic  volume,  resembles  the  flow 
of  a  river  ;  the  rhetoric  of  St.  Paul  is  like  the  rush  of  a 
mountain  torrent  amid  opposing  rocks."  ^  In  addition  to 
this  general  dissimilarity  of  style,  there  are  so  many  well- 
marked  differences  in  detail,  that  the  idea  that  Paul  wrote 
this  epistle  has  now  been  generally  abandoned.  ( i )  There  is  a 
marked  absence  of  the  opening  salutation  and  thanksgiving 


^  xiii.  24  :  "  They  of  Italy  salute  you."  the  archetype  from  which  the  Vatican 

-  At   the   fifth   Council   of  Carthage  MS.  was  copied.     In  the  Vatican  MS. 

(419  A.  D. ),  this  epistle  was  classed  along  itself,  and  in  other  Eastern  MSS.  this 

with  the  rest  of  Paul's   epistles:   "Of  epistle  comes  after  that  to  the  Thessa- 

the   epistles   of   Paul   in   number  four-  lonians,  and  before  the  letters  to  indi- 

teen."     But  a  little  earlier,  at  the  third  viduals ;    but    the    numbering    of    the 

Council  of  Carthage  (397  A.  D.),  and  the  sections   shows  that   the  Vatican   MS. 

Council   of   Hippo   (393   A.D.),    a   dis-  was   copied     from    one   in   which    the 

tinction  is  made  between   them:    "Of  Hebrews  stood  still  higher  in  the  rank 

the  Apostle  Paul  thirteen  epistles  :    of  of  the  Pauline  Epistles,  and  came  next 

the  same  to  the  Hebrews  one. "     Hence  after     that    to    the     Galatians.       The 

the  position  assigned  to  this  epistle  in  Thebaic  Version  placed  it  even  a  step 

our  copy  of  the  New  Testament.     "But  higher,    viz.,    immediately    before    the 

the   earliest    order   of    all,    concerning  Epistle  to  the  Galatians  "  (Salmon), 

which  we  have  information,  is  that  of  ^  Farrar,  Messages  of  the  Books. 


2o8  New  Testament  and  Its  Writers.  xix. 

usual  with  St.  Paul.  (2)  There  is  an  acknowledgment  on 
the  part  of  the  writer  that  he  and  his  readers  were  indebted 
in  some  measure  for  their  knowledge  of  the  Gospel  to 
"  them  that  heard  "  the  Lord,^  whereas  Paul  repudiated 
for  himself  any  such  dependence  on  the  testimony  of 
others.  2  (3)  In  quoting  from  the  Old  Testament  the 
writer  of  this  epistle  makes  use  of  phrases  that  are  not 
found  in  St.  Paul's  writings.^  (4)  He  invariably  quotes 
from  the  Septuagint  in  the  Alexandrian  text,  without 
regard  to  the  Hebrew  ;  whereas  Paul  often  corrects  the 
Septuagint  by  the  Hebrew,  and,  when  he  quotes  from  the 
Greek  version,  follows  the  text  found  in  the  Vatican  MS. 
(5)  He  never  designates  the  Saviour  as  "our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ"  or  "Christ  Jesus  our  Lord" — expressions  which 
occur  nearly  seventy  times  in  Paul's  epistles  —  but  gen- 
erally speaks  of  Him  as  "Jesus,"  or  "Christ,"  or  "the 
Lord."  (6)  Greek  particles  of  frequent  occurrence  in 
Paul's  writings  are  entirely  absent  from  this  epistle ; 
while  some  are  found  here  that  are  never  used  by  Paul.* 
With  regard  to  the  conjecture  made  by  Clement  of 
Alexandria,  that  the  epistle,  in  its  present  form,  may  be 
the  translation  of  a  Hebrew  work  of  the  apostle,  internal 
evidence  is  decisive  against  it.  Not  only  is  the  com- 
position possessed  of  such  a  rhetorical  grace  and  finish  as 
is  scarcely  attainable  in  a  translation,  but  in  several  other 
respects  it  bears  unmistakable  tokens  of  having  been 
originally  written  in  Greek.  It  has  numerous  plays  on 
Greek   words,  ^   and    contains   expressions    that    have   no 

1  ii.  3,  4  :  "how  shall  we  escape,   if       but  it  came  to  me  through  revelation  of 
we  neglect  so  great   salvation?  which       Jesus  Christ.  .   .  ." 

having  at  the  first  been  spoken  through  3  E.g.     "God     saith,"     "the    Holy 

the   Lord,  was  confirmed   unto   us   by  Spirit  saith,"  "  he  testifieth  "  (/(zw/;«). 

them   that   heard  ;    God   also    bearing  ■*  Of  the  former  are,  eiVe,  Trore,  dra, 

witness  with  them,  both  by  signs  and  efTrep  ;  of  the  latter,  Wev  and  idvirep. 

wonders,  and  by  manifold  powers,  and  s  £,g.i.  i;  rioXvfxepQs KanroXvTpoTrws: 

by  gifts  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  according  v.  14:  wpbi  SiaKpiiXLi' KaXoOre  KalKaKov  : 

to  his  own  will.  vii.  3:  aTraTup,  dpiriTup,  dyeveaXoyvTo^: 

2  Gal.  1.  11-17:   "  For  I  make  known  ^-      „^  .        v           .        .-               ,   '  ,    -- 
to  you,  brethren,  as  touching  the  gospel  ":'•    ^7-     rbv     yap    aoparou    coj    op^^ 
which  was  preached   by  me,  that  it  is  i'<ciprepwe  ;    xin.    14:       .        ,x€i>ovaa,> 
not  after  man.     For  neither  did  I  re-  •  •  •  /J^fX^ovaav  .   .  .  &c.,  i:c. 

ceive  it  from  man,  nor  was  I  taught  it, 


XIX. 


Hebrews. 


209 


equivalent  in  Hebrew  ;  ^  it  also  makes  its  Old  Testament 
quotations  direct  from  the  Septuagint,  in  some  cases  even 
building  an  argument  on  forms  of  expression  which  do 
not  occur  in  the  Hebrew  text.-  But  although  we  cannot 
assign  the  epistle  to  St.  Paul,  this  need  not  impair  our 
sense  of  its  value  as  an  acknowledged  portion  of  the  New 
Testament.  Its  value  is  independent  of  its  human  author- 
ship. "  If  it  should  be  found  that  a  noble  picture  which 
had  been  attributed  to  Raphael  was  not  by  that  artist, 
there  would  not  be  one  masterpiece  the  less,  but  one 
great  master  the  more."  ^ 

While  the  evidence  is  conclusive,  against  the  epistle 
having  been  written  by  Paul,  there  is  yet  reason  to  be- 
lieve that  it  was  the  work  of  one  of  his  school.  The  writer 
appears  to  have  been  acquainted  with  some  of  Paul's 
epistles ;  *  and  he  uses   many  words  which  are  found  no- 


1  E.g.  8t.adijKr],  in  the  sense  not  only 
of  covena7it,  but  also  of  testament  (ix. 
15,  16,  R.V.),  which  latter  meaning 
does  not  belong  to  the  Hebrew  word 
j-|>i-)2.     Calvin   regarded    this    one   in- 

• :  stance  as  a  conclusive  proof  that 
the  epistle  was  written  in  Greek. 

2  E.g.  i.  6,  7,  &c. ,  where  the  Septu- 
agint translation  of  l^"''^^^  ("God"  or 
"gods")  viz.,  dyyeXoi  ("angels")  is 
assumed ;  x.  5  :  (TWfia  8^  KaTT^pricru} 
fxoi  ("but  a  body  didst  thou  prepare 
for    me ") ;     where    the    original    has 

"1^  n'''13  D''3TS  ("mine  ears   hast  thou 
•  T     -T      -:t  opened"). 

3  —Thiersch. 

*  Cf.  ii.  8:  "Thou  didst  put  all 
things  in  subjection  under  his  feet. 
For  in  that  he  subjected  all  things  unto 
him,  he  left  nothing  that  is  not  subject 
to  him.  But  now  we  see  not  yet  all 
things  subjected  to  him  "  ;  and  i  Cor. 
XV.  27:  "For,  He  put  all  things  in 
subjection  under  his  feet.  But  when  he 
saith,  All  things  are  put  in  subjection, 
it  is  evident  that  he  is  excepted  who  did 
subject  all  things  unto  him."  ii.  10: 
"For  it  became  him,  for  whom  are  all 
things,  and  through  whom  are  all  things, 
in  bringing  many  sons  unto  glory "  ; 
and  Rom.  xi.  36:  "For  of  him,  and 
through  him,    and   unto   him,    are  all 


things.  To  him  be  the  glory  for  ever. 
Amen."  ii.  14:  "that  through  death 
he  might  bring  to  nought  {KarapyTja-ri, 
a  Pauline  use  of  the  word  which  also 
occurs  in  the  two  following  passages, 
and  is  translated  "abolished")  him 
that  had  the  power  of  death,  that  is,  the 
devil";  2  Tim.  i.  10:  "who  abolished 
death,  and  brought  life  and  incorruption 
to  light  through  the  gospel "  ;  and  i 
Cor.  XV.  26:  "The  last  enemy  that 
shall  be  abolished  is  death."  v.  12-14  • 
".  .  .  For  every  one  that  partaketh  of 
milk  is  without  experience  of  the  word 
of  righteousness  ;  for  he  is  a  babe.  But 
solid  food  is  for  fullgrown  men,  e\en 
those  who  by  reason  of  use  have  their 
senses  exercised  to  discern  good  and 
evil";  and  i  Cor  iii.  2:  "I  fed  you 
with  milk,  not  with  meat ;  for  ye  were 
not  yet  able  to  bear  it :  nay,  not  even  now 
are  ye  able."  x.  30:  "For  we  know 
him  that  said.  Vengeance  belongeth 
unto  me,  I  will  recompense.  And 
again.  The  Lord  shall  judge  his 
people";  and  Rom.  xii.  19:  "Avenge 
not  yourselves,  beloved,  but  give  place 
unto  wrath ;  for  it  is  written,  Ven- 
geance belongeth  unto  me  ;  I  will  re- 
compense, saith  the  Lord."  xii.  14: 
"  Follow  after  peace  with  all  men  "  ; 
and  Rom.  xii.  18  :  "  If  it  l)e  possible, 
as  much  as  in  you  lieth,  be  at  peace 
with  all  men." 


O 


2 1  o  New  Testament  and  Its  Writers.  xix. 

where  in  the  New  Testament  except  in  Paul's  writings, 
or  in  his  speeches  as  reported  by  Luke.^  He  also  refers 
to  Timothy  as  a  personal  friend — although  in  different 
terms  from  those  used  by  the  apostle.- 

By  which  of  Paul's  friends  or  associates  the  letter  was 
written  it  is  difficult  to  say.  Neither  Clement  nor  Luke 
(whose  names  were  suggested  as  early  as  the  third  cen- 
tury) can  have  been  the  author,  so  greatly  do  their  styles 
differ  from  that  of  the  epistle.  Luther's  conjecture  that 
Apollos  may  have  been  the  writer,  is  favoured  by  the 
description  of  the  latter  in  the  Book  of  Acts,^  viewed  in 
connection  with  the  internal  characteristics  of  the  epistle, 
and  it  has  been  widely  accepted.  But  if  Apollos  was  the 
writer,  it  is  difficult  to  account  for  the  complete  dis- 
appearance of  his  name  from  the  traditions  of  the  Church, 
more  especially  in  the  East. 

There  is  another  name,  in  itself  not  at  all  an  improbable 
one,  for  which  we  have  the  authority  of  Tertullian  of 
Carthage,  who  wrote  in  the  beginning  of  the  third  century. 
That  presbyter  refers  to  Barnabas  as  the  author  of  the 
epistle,  in  terms  which  would  imply  that  this  was  no  new 
supposition  ;  *  and  his  testimony  is  all  the  more  important 
because  he  had  been  at  one  time  resident  in  Rome  and 
knew  what  was  the  current  belief  of  the  Church  there.     In 

1  E.g.  vei>€Kpw/j.evos  "as  good  as  the  baptism  of  John  :  and  he  began  to 
dead "  (xi.  12,  and  Rom.  iv.  19)  ;  speak  boldly  in  the  synagogue.  But 
€(pdira^  "once"  (vii.  27,  &c.,  Rom.  vi.  when  Priscilla  and  Aquila  heard  him, 
10,  I  Cor.  XV.  6).  In  ii.  2,  there  are  they  took  him  unto  them,  and  expound- 
three  such  words,  viz.,  ^vdiKos  ("just  "),  ed  unto  him  the  way  of  God  more  care- 
7rapciSa<Tts("  transgression"),  TrapaKOV  ^^lly.  And  when  he  was  minded  to 
("disobedience").  A  complete  list  is  pass  over  nito  Achaia,  the  brethren  en- 
given  in  the  Introduction  to  the  Epistle  couraged  him,  and  wrote  to  the  disciples 
in  the  S/,eakers  Commentarv.  ^o  receive  him  :  and  when  he  was  come, 

2  xiii.23:  "Know  ye  that' our  brother  ^e  helped  them  much  which  had  be- 
Timothy  hath  been  set  at  liberty  ;  with  Yl  ?"^^  ^['"'''t  r^.t'\ 
whom,  if  he  come  shortly,  I    will   see  f""y.  confuted     the    Jews,    and     that 

0  '  publicly,    shewing    by    the     scriptures 

3  Acts  xviii.  24-28  :   "  Now  a  certain       that  Jesus  was  the  Christ." 

Jew  named  Apollos,  an  Alexandrian  by  /  "  J^f '■e.  '^  ^^^^   ^"   "^P'^'^^  ,^^- 

race,  a  learned  man,  came  to  Ephesus  ;  Pressed  to  the  Hebrews  by  Barnabas 

and  he  was   mighty  in  the  scriptures.  '^   "^^^   "f    ^u^h   authority  that     Paul 

This  man  had  been  instructed  in  the  rankecl  him  with  himself,     I  only  and 

way  of  the  Lord  ;    and  being  fervent  in  Barnabas  have  no   we  power  to  forbear 

spirit,  he  spake  and  taught  carefully  the  working.       Tertullian  then  quotes  Heb. 

things  concerning  Jesus,  knowing  only  ^■'-  4-°- 


XIX.  Hebrews.  2 1 1 

many  respects  the  name  of  Barnabas  answers  the  require- 
ments of  the  case.  As  a  Jewish  Christian  who  enjoyed 
the  confidence  of  the  apostles  and  was  on  intimate  terms 
with  the  Church  at  Jerusalem,  of  which  he  had  been  an 
early  benefactor  ;  as  a  Levite,  familiar  with  the  usages  and 
customs  of  the  Jewish  sanctuary;  as  a  native,  and  frequent 
visitor,  of  Cyprus,  sufficiently  acquainted  with  Hellenistic 
literature  to  be  able  to  preach  to  Hellenists,  and  at  one 
time  (according  to  an  ancient  tradition)  a  teacher,  like  his 
nephew  Mark,  at  Alexandria,^  with  which  Cyprus  was 
closely  connected ;  as  a  good  man  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
and  of  faith,  whose  surname  of  Barnabas,  "  son  of  exhorta- 
tion "  (conferred  on  him  by  the  apostles),  marked  him  out 
as  a  man  of  great  persuasive  influence : — in  all  these 
respects  this  Church-leader  was  well  fitted  to  be  the  writer 
of  a  "  word  of  exhortation  "  ^ — in  the  Greek  language  and 
after  the  Alexandrian  mode  of  thought — to  the  wavering 
and  distracted  Hebrews.^ 

2.  The  Readers. 

"  To  the  Hebrews."  We  have  no  reason  to  doubt  that 
this  part  of  the  superscription — which  probably  formed  the 
whole  of  the  original,  and  is  of  immemorial  antiquity — 
gives  a  correct  indication  of  the  readers  for  whom  the 
epistle  was  intended.  The  whole  tenor  of  the  epistle 
implies  that  it  was  written  for  Jeivish  CJiristians.  But 
various  allusions  show  that  it  was  not  intended  merely  for 
Hebrew  Christians  in  general,  but  for  some  definite  commun- 
ity.^ Which  of  the  Hebrew  communities,  in  particular,  is 
addressed  has  been  much  disputed.     Alexandria,  Antioch, 

1  The  tradition  is  found  in  the  Clemen-  tion,  seeing  ye  are  become  dull  of  hear- 

tine   Homilies  ;    but   according  to   the  ing.     For  when  by  reason  of  the  time 

Recognitions,  Barnabas  preached  at  an  ye  ought  to  be  teachers,  ye  have  need 

early  period  in  Rome.  again  that  some  one  teach  you  the  rudi- 

-  xiii.  22:   "  But  I  exhort  you,  breth-  ments   of    the    first   principles    of    the 

ren,  bear  with  the  word  of  exhortation."  oracles  of  God;  and  are  become  such 

^  Acts  iv.   36,  37  ;  ix.   26,  27  ;  xi.  19-  as  have  need  of  milk,  and  not  of  solid 

30  ;  xiii.  I  ;  XV.  39.  food."    vi.   9,   10  :    "  But,    beloved,  we 

•*  V.  II,  12:  "Of  whom  we  have  many  are  persuaded  better  things  of  you,  and 

things  to  say,  and  hard  of  interpreta-  things  that  accompany  salvation,  though 


212  New  Testament  and  Its  Writers.  xix. 


Ephesus,  Rome,  have  all  been  suggested.  Something  may 
be  said  for  each  of  them,i  especially  Antioch  ;  but  from  the 
way  in  which  the  Gentiles  are  entirely  ignored  in  the  epistle 

the    word    "  people,"    which    frequently    occurs,    being 

always  used  to  designate  the  Jews  ^ — it  would  seem  most 
probable  that  the  letter  was  intended  for  Christians  in  Jeru- 
salem or  in  some  other  part  of  Palestine.     It  was  only  in 
Palestine  that  Churches  were  to  be  found  entirely  com- 
posed of  Jewish  Christians  ;  and  the  troubles  that  overtook 
these  congregations  soon  afterwards  in  connection  with  the 
destruction  of  Jerusalem  would  go  far  to  account  for  the 
ignorance  and   uncertainty  of  the  early  Church  as  to  the 
authorship  and  the  original  destination  of  this  epistle — an 
oblivion  that  is  otherwise  difficult  to  explain.     Moreover, 
it   was    in    Palestine   that  the  temptations  to   relapse    into 
Judaism,  against  which  the  writer  is  so  anxious  to  guard 
his  readers,  were  most  formidable.     The  sacerdotal  splen- 
dour of  the   ancient  sanctuary  threw  into   the  shade  the 
simple   forms   of  Christian   worship  ;     and  the   flames  of 
patriotic  zeal  burned  more  fiercely  in  the  Holy  Land  than 
among  the  Jews  of  the  Dispersion.     The   Hebrew  Chris- 
tians residing  there  must  have  felt  themselves  more  and 
more    under    the    necessity    of    choosing    between    their 
country    and    their    faith,    between  a   revolt    against    the 
Romans    and    a    patient    waiting    for    the    coming  of  the 
Saviour.     Exposed   to   persecution  and   excommunication 
at  the  hands  of  their  fanatical   and   exasperated  country- 

\ve  thus  speak:  for  God  is  not  un-  7,  18,  19,  23:  "  Remember  them  that 
righteous  to  forget  your  work  and  the  had  the  rule  over  you,  which  spake 
love  which  ye  shewed  toward  his  name,  unto  you  the  word  of  God  ;  and  con- 
in  that  ye  ministered  unto  the  saints,  sidering  the  issue  of  their  life,  imitate 
and  still  do  minister."  x.  32-34  :  "  But  theirfaith.  .  .  .  Pray  for  us  :  ...  And  I 
call  to  remembrance  the  former  days,  in  exhort  you  the  more  exceedingly  to  do 
which,  after  ye  were  enlightened,  ye  en-  this,  that  I  may  be  restored  to  you  the 
dured  a  great  conflict  of  sufferings;  partly,  sooner.  .  .  .  Know  ye  that  our  brother 
being  made  a  gazingstock  both  by  re-  Timothy  hath  been  set  at  liberty  ;  with 
proaches  and  afflictions  ;  and  partly,  be-  whom,  if  he  come  shortly,  I  will  see  you." 
coming  partakers  with  them  that  were  so  1  The  language  of  xii.  4,  however, 
used.  For  ye  both  had  compassion  on  "Ye  have  not  yet  resisted  unto  blood," 
them  that  were  in  bonds,  and  took  joy-  could  hardly  have  been  addressed  to 
fully  the  spoiling  of  your  possessions.  Christians  at  Rome  after  64  A.u.  Cf. 
knowing  that  ye  yourselves  have  a  better  p.  224,  7iote  3. 
possession  and  an  abiding  one."    xiii.  -  \aos.     vii.  5,  11,  27,  &c. 


XIX.  Hebrews.  2 1 3 

men,  deeply  attached  to  the  rehgion  of  their  fathers  and 
with  a  strong  love  of  outward  ceremonial,  disappointed  by 
the  delay  of  the  Second  Coming  and  by  the  rejection  of  the 
Gospel  on  the  part  of  so  many  of  their  kindred,  they  stood 
in  urgent  need  of  the  consolations  and  the  warnings  which 
are  addressed  to  them  in  this  epistle. 

3.  Date  and  Place  of  Composition. 

The  only  clue  to  guide  us  as  to  the  place  of  writing  is 
to  be  found  in  the  message  at  the  close  of  the  epistle : 
"  They  of  Italy  salute  you."  ^  This  may  either  mean  that 
the  writer  was  sending  greetings  from  the  Church  in  Italy, 
or  from  Italian  Christians  resident  in  some  foreign  city 
from  which  he  wrote.  The  latter  would  be  quite  natural 
and  intelligible  if  the  epistle  was  going  to  some  Church  in 
Italy,  whose  members  were  receiving  a  special  greeting 
from  their  countrymen  abroad.  But,  as  we  have  seen,  the 
epistle  had  probably  a  different  destination  ;  and  we  may 
therefore  conclude  that  it  was  written  from  some  place  in 
Italy — the  more  so  as  it  informs  its  readers  of  Timothy's 
liberation,  which  took  place  presumably  at  Rome,  whither 
he  had  been  summoned  by  St.  Paul  in  his  last  imprison- 
ment.'^ 

On  this  supposition  the  date  of  the  epistle  would  be 
about  68  A.D.,  which  tallies  with  other  indications  of  time 
in  the  epistle.  That  it  was  written  before  the  Fall  of 
Jerusalem  is  evident  not  only  from  the  allusions  to  the 
sacrificial  system  as  still  going  on,^  and  to  the  old  covenant 
as  "becoming  old  "  and  "  nigh  unto  vanishing  away,"^  but 

1  xiii.  24.  worshippers,  having  been  once  cleansed, 

2  xiii.  23  (quoted  foot  of  previous  page);  would,  have  had  no  more  conscience  of 
2  Tim.  iv.  9:  "Do  thy  diligence  to  sins? ''But  in  those  sacrifices  there  is  a 
come  shortly  unto  me"  ;  ver.  21  :  "Do  remembrance  made  of  sins  year  by 
thy  diligence  to  come  before  winter."  year." 

'^  E.g.  X.  1-3:    "  they  can  never  with  •*  viii.  13:   "In  that  he  saith,  A  new 

the  same  sacrifices  year  by  year,  which  covenant,  he  hath  made  the  first  old. 

they  offer  continually,  make  perfect  them  But   that  which  is   becoming  old  and 

that  draw  nigh.     Else  would  they  not  waxeth   aged    is   nigh   unto   vanishing 

have  ceased  to  be  offered,  because  the  away." 


2  14  New  Testament  and  Its  Writers.  xix. 

still  more  perhaps  from  the  absence  of  any  allusion  to  the 
destruction  of  the  Temple.  That  event,  if  it  had  already- 
occurred,  would  have  rendered  superfluous  any  other  proof 
of  the  transitory  and  imperfect  nature  of  the  Old  Testament 
dispensation. 

4.  Its  Character  and  Contents. 

In  many  respects  this  book  has  more  of  the  character  of 
a  U'eatise  than  of  a  letter.  Its  great  theme  is  the  superior- 
ity of  Christianity  to  Judaism.  This  superiority  it  proves 
not  so  much  by  minimising  the  old  covenant — which  Paul 
had  been  obliged  to  do  in  vindicating  the  freedom  of  his 
Gentile  converts — as  by  magnifying  the  new  in  the  sense 
of  its  being  a  fulfilment  of  the  old.^ 

The  epistle  may  be  divided  into  two  parts,  the  first 
mainly  of  an  argumentative  or  expository  character,  the 
second  chiefly  hortatory  and practicall^ 

(i)  In  the  former  the  writer  seeks  to  establish  the 
supremacy  of  Christ  and  of  the  Christian  Dispensation. 
After  the  opening  statement  as  to  the  divine  revelation 
being  completed  and  concentrated  in  the  "  Son,"  he  pro- 
ceeds to  show  His  superiority  to  the  angels  (through  whom 
the  Law  was  believed  to  have  been  given),  to  Moses  and  to 
Joshua?  But  his  main  efforts  are  directed  to  proving 
Christ's  superiority  and  that  of  His  religion  to  the 
sacerdotal  system  of  the  Jews.  He  shows  that  Christ, 
while  possessing  in  common  with  Aaron  all  the  qualifica- 

1  The  new  is  pronounced  "better."  awful  darkness  of  the  Holiest  Place,  and 
Cf.  vii.  19:  "better  hope";  viii.  6:  clad  in  the  pomp  of  his  gorgeous  and 
"better  promises,"  "  better  covenant "  ;  jewelled  robes;  and  then,  as  with  one 
ix.  II  :  "  more  perfect  tabernacle"  ;  ix.  wave  of  the  wand,  sets  all  this  aside  as 
23  :  "  better  sacrifices  "  ;  xi.  16:  "  better  a  symbol,  a  picture,  a  transient  shadow, 
country,"  &c.  The  argument  is  a  while  he  draws  aside  the  blue  curtain  of 
Jortiori — hence  the  frequency  of  the  the  Heavens,  and  points  to  the  High 
expression  "how  much  more,"  or  its  Priest  for  ever  after  the  order  of  Mel- 
equivalents.  "  He  treats  the  Temple  and  chizedek,  who  has  passed  with  His  own 
the  High  Priest  with  profound  respect.  blood  once  for  all  into  a  Tabernacle 
Christianity  is  represented  as  a  sub-  not  made  with  hands,  eternal  in  the 
limated,  completed,  idealised  Judaism.  heavens."  —  F'arrar,  Messages  of  the 
He  dwells  with  loving  detail  on  the  im-  Books,  p.  439. 
posingsplendourof  the  Tabernacle,  and  ^  (1)  i. — x.i8;  (2)  x.19 — xiii. 
shows  us  the  High  Priest  entering  the  3  i.3 — ii.  ;  iii.  ;  iv. 


XIX. 


Hebrews. 


215 


tions  of  a  true  priest,  belongs  to  a  JiigJier  order  of  priest- 
hood, represented  not  by  Aaron  but  by  Melchizedek.^  In 
the  story  of  the  meeting  of  Melchizedek  with  Abraham 
and  the  prophetic  allusions  to  the  former,  he  finds  many 
reasons  of  an  allegorical  nature  to  justify  this  view.^  He 
represents  the  Head  of  the  Christian  Church  as  the 
possessor  of  an  unchangeable  priesthood,  secured  by  the 
divine  oath — not  transitory,  but  permanent — exercised  not 
on  earth  but  in  heaven — constituted  "  not  after  the  law  of 
a  carnal  commandment,  but  after  the  power  of  an  endless 
life."  A  similar  superiority  is  proved  to  belong  to  the 
Christian  Dispensation,  with  its  law  written  on  the  heart, 
and  its  sacrifice  offered  "once  for  all"  in  a  "tabernacle  not 
made  with  hands,"  whereby  Christ  hath  "  through  his  own 
blood  "  "  obtained  eternal  redemption."  ^ 

(2)  In  the  course  of  the  argument  occasional  exhortations 
and  warnings  are  introduced.*     But  the  practical  application 


1  V. Vll. 

2  Gen.  xiv.  18-20  :  "And  Melchizedek 
king  of  Salem  brought  forth  bread  and 
wine  :  and  he  was  priest  of  God  Most 
High.  And  he  blessed  him,  and  said, 
Blessed  be  Abram  of  God  Most  High, 
possessor  of  heaven  and  earth :  and 
blessed  be  God  Most  High,  which  hath 
delivered  thine  enemies  into  Ihy  hand. 
And  he  gave  him  a  tenth  of  all."  Ps. 
ex.  4  :  "  The  Lord  hath  sworn,  and  will 
not  repent.  Thou  art  a  priestfor  ever  after 
the  order  of  Melchizedek."  This  is  all 
the  information  regarding  Melchizedek 
that  we  find  in  the  Old  Testament.  The 
remarkable  significance  attached  to  it  in 
this  epistle  (chaps,  v. — vii. )  is  an  evidence 
that  the  writer  belonged  to  the  Alex- 
andrian school  of  thought,  and  had 
been  influenced  by  the  writings  of 
Philo.  In  many  other  passages  a 
resemblance  can  be  traced  not  only  to 
the  writings  of  Philo,  but  also  to  the 
Book  of  Wisdom.  One  of  the  leading 
traits  of  the  epistle  is  "that  philosophy 
of  ideas  which  Philo  borrowed  from 
Plato.  The  key-note  of  the  reasoning 
of  the  epistle  is  found  in  the  quotation, 
'  See  thou  make  all  things  after  the 
pattern  shewed  thee  in  the  mount.' 
He  regarded  the  visible  world  as  only 
the  shadow  of  the  invisible.     To  him 


the  reality  of  all  phenomena  depended 
exclusively  on  the  unseen,  pre-existent, 
eternal  Noumena."  Cf.  viii.  5:  "who 
serve  that  which  is  a  copy  and  shadow 
of  the  heavenly  things,  even  as  Moses  is 
warned  of  God  when  he  is  about  to  make 
the  tabernacle  :  for,  .See,  saith  he,  that 
thou  make  all  things  according  to  the 
pattern  that  was  shewed  thee  in  the 
mount  "  ;  ix.  23,  24  :  "It  was  necessary 
therefore  that  the  copies  of  the  things 
in  the  heavens  should  be  cleansed  with 
these ;  but  the  heavenly  things  them- 
selves with  better  sacrifices  than  these. 
For  Christ  entered  not  into  a  holy  place 
made  with  hands,  like  in  pattern  to  the 
true ;  but  into  heaven  itself,  now  to  ap- 
pear before  the  face  of  God  for  us,"  tVc. 

3  viii. — x.  18. 

•*  ii.  1-4  :  ' '  Therefore  we  ought  to  give 
the  more  earnest  heed  to  the  things  that 
were  heard,  lest  haply  we  drift  away  from 
them.  For  if  the  word  spoken  through 
angels  proved  stedfast,  and  every  trans- 
gression and  disobedience  received  a 
just  recompense  of  reward  ;  how  shall 
we  escape,  if  we  neglect  so  great  salva- 
tion "  ?  iii.  7-13:  "...  Take  heed, 
brethren,  lest  haply  there  shall  be  in 
any  one  of  you  an  evil  heart  of  unbelief, 
in  falling  away  from  the  living  God  :  but 
exhort  one  another  day  by  d.ay,  so  long 


2l6 


New  Testament  and  Its  Writers. 


XIX. 


is  mainly  reserved  for  the  concluding  chapters.  After  ex- 
horting his  readers  to  avail  themselves  of  the  "  new  and 
living  way  "  which  has  been  thus  consecrated  for  them  into 
"  the  holy  place,"  and  warning  them  against  the  terrible 
consequences  of  apostasy,^  he  comforts  their  hearts  with 
the  assurance  that  though  they  may  be  disowned  by  the 
sacerdotal  leaders  at  Jerusalem,  they  are  in  the  true  line  of 
fellowship  with  the  saints  and  holy  men  of  old,  whose 
devotion  had  been  shown,  not  by  the  observance  of  an 
outward  ceremonial,  but  by  faitJi  in  the  7inscen}  In  the 
next  chapter,  after  exhorting  them  to  patience  under  their 
trials  through  the  sustaining  power  of  God's  fatherly  love, 
he  introduces  a  striking  contrast  between  the  terrors  of 
Sinai  and  the  attractive  glories  of  Mount  Zion.^     In  the 


as  it  is  called  To-day ;  lest  any  one  of 
you  be  hardened  by  the  deceitfulness  of 
sin  "  ;  iv.  11-16  :  "  Let  us  therefore  give 
diligence  to  enter  into  that  rest,  that  no 
man  fall  after  the  same  example  of  dis- 
obedience. .  .  .  Having  then  a  great 
high  priest,  who  hath  passed  through 
the  heavens,  Jesus  the  Son  of  God,  let 
us  hold  fast  our  confession.  For  we 
have  not  a  high  priest  that  cannot  be 
touched  with  the  feeling  of  our  infirmi- 
ties ;  but  one  that  hath  been  in  all  points 
tempted  like  as  we  are,  yet  without  sin. 
Let  us  therefore  draw  near  with  boldness 
unto  the  throne  of  grace,  that  we  may 
receive  mercy,  and  may  find  grace  to 
help  us  in  time  of  need  "  ;  vi. :  "  Where- 
fore let  us  cease  to  speak  of  the  first 
principles  of  Christ,  and  press  on  unto 
perfection  ;  not  laying  again  a  founda- 
tion of  repentance  from  dead  works,  and 
of  faith  toward  God,  of  the  teaching  of 
baptisms,  and  of  laying  on  of  hands, 
and  of  resurrection  of  the  dead,  and  of 
eternal  judgement.   ..." 

1  X.  26-31:  "For  if  we  sin  wilfully 
after  that  we  have  received  the  know- 
ledge of  the  truth,  there  remaineth  no 
more  a  sacrifice  for  sins,  but  a  certain 
fearful  expectation  of  judgement,  and  a 
fierceness  of  fire  which  shall  devour  the 
adversaries.  A  man  that  hath  set  at 
nought  Moses'  law  dieth  without  com- 
passion on  the  word  of  two  or  three 
witnesses  :  of  how  much  sorer  punish- 
ment, think  ye,  shall  he  be  judged 
worthy,  who  hath  trodden  under  foot 


the  Son  of  God,  and  hath  counted  the 
blood  of  the  covenant,  wherewith  he  was 
sanctified,  an  unholy  thing,  and  hath  done 
despite  unto  the  Spirit  of  grace?  ..." 
Cf.  vi.  4-8.  The  stern  condemnation 
which  is  here  pronounced  on  those  who 
abuse  their  Christian  privileges,  and  are 
guilty  of  disloyalty  to  Christ,  lent  an  ap- 
pearance of  Scriptural  authority  to  the 
intolerance  of  the  Montanists  and  Nova- 
tians  of  the  second  and  third  centuries, 
when  they  refused  to  re-admit  those 
who  had  been  guilty  of  deadly  sin. 
But  the  language  of  the  epistle  is  used 
in  a  spiritual,  not  in  an  ecclesiastical 
sense. 

2  X.  19 — xi. 

3  xii.  18-24:  "For  ye  are  not  come 
unto  a  mount  that  might  be  touched, 
and  that  burned  with  fire,  and  unto 
blackness,  and  darkness,  and  tempest, 
and  the  sound  of  a  trumpet,  and  the 
voice  of  words  ;  which  voice  they  that 
heard  intreated  that  no  word  more 
should  be  spoken  unto  them  :  for  they 
could  not  endure  that  which  was  en- 
joined. If  even  a  beast  touch  the  moun- 
tain, it  shall  be  stoned  ;  and  so  fearful 
was  the  appearance,  that  Moses  said,  I 
exceedingly  fear  and  quake  :  but  ye  are 
come  unto  mount  Zion,  and  unto  the 
city  of  the  living  God,  the  heavenly 
Jerusalem,  and  to  innumerable  hosts 
of  angels,  to  the  general  assembly  and 
church  of  the  firstborn  who  are  enrolled 
in  heaven,  and  to  God  the  Judge  of  all, 
and  to  the  spirits   of  just   men  made 


XIX.  Hebrews.  2 1 7 

last  chapter  he  gives  a  number  of  salutary  counsels  and  ad- 
monitions, in  the  course  of  which  he  calls  upon  his  readers 
to  go  forth  unto  Jesus  "without  the  camp,  bearing  his  re- 
proach," as  Jesus  Himself  "  suffered  without  the  gate."  He 
exhorts  them  to  offer  the  sacrifices  of  praise  and  well-doing 
which  are  required  of  the  Christian,  and  bids  them  render 
obedience  to  their  ecclesiastical  superiors.^  The  epistle 
concludes  with  a  request  for  their  prayers  on  behalf  of 
the  writer,  that  he  "  may  be  restored  to  (them)  the  sooner," 
followed  by  a  beautiful  benediction,  and  a  few  last  words 
of  personal  explanation  and  greeting.- 

perfect,  and  to  Jesus  the  mediator  of  20-25:    "Now  the  God  of  peace,  who 

a  new  covenant,  and  to  the  blood   of  brought  again  from  the  dead  the  great 

sprinkling  that  speaketh  better  than  that  shepherd  of  the  sheep  with  the  blood  of 

of  Abel."  the  eternal  covenant,   even   our   Lord 

1  xiii.  15-17:  "Through  him  then  let  Jesus,  make  you  perfect  in  every  good 

us  offer  up  a  sacrifice  of  praise  to  God  thing  to  do  his  will,  working  in  us  that 

continually,    that   is,    the   fruit   of    lips  which    is    well-pleasing    in    his    sight, 

which   make   confession   to   his   name.  through  Jesus  Christ ;  to  whom  be  the 

But  to  do  good   and  to  communicate  glory  for  ever  and  ever.     Amen.     But  I 

forget  not :  for  with  such  sacrifices  God  exhort  you,  brethren,  bear  with  the  word 

is  well  pleased.     Obey  them  that  have  of  exhortation :  for  I  have  written  unto 

the  rule  over  you,  and  submit  to  them  :  you  in  few  words.     Know  ye  that  our 

for  they  watch  in  behalf  of  your  souls,  brotherTimothy  hath  been  set  at  liberty; 

as  they  that  shall  give  account ;    that  with  whom,  if  he  come  shortly,  I  will  see 

they  may  do  this  with  joy,  and  not  with  you.     Salute  all  them  that  have  the  rule 

grief:    for   this    were    unprofitable   for  over  you,  and  all  the  saints.     They  of 

you."  Italy  salute  you.    Grace  be  with  you  all. 

2 xiii.    18,  19  (quoted  on  page  212);  Amen." 


CHAPTER   XX. 

THE   CATHOLIC   EPISTLES. 

There  are  seven  epistles  which  from  the  fourth  century 
have  gone  under  the  name  of  the  CatJiolic  (or  General) 
Epistles,  viz.  James;  i  and  2  Peter;  i,  2,  3  John;  and 
Jude.i  They  were  so  called  in  contradistinction  to  Paul's 
epistles,  which,  with  the  exception  of  the  Pastoral  Epistles 
and  Philemon,  appeared  to  be  addressed  to  individiial 
Churches,  also  seven  in  number.  In  most  of  the  Greek 
MSS.  the  Catholic  epistles  stand  next  to  the  Book  of  Acts, 
although  they  were  much  later  than  the  epistles  of  Paul  in 
obtaining  general  recognition  in  the  Church.^ 


•'THE   general   epistle   OF   JAMES."  ^ 

I.  AutJiorship. 

In  common  with  four  other  of  the  Catholic  epistles,  viz., 
2  Peter,  2  and  3  John,  and  Jude,  this  epistle  is  described 
by  Eusebius  (about  325  A.D.)  as  a  disputed  book  of  the 
New  Testament,  in  the  sense  of  not  being  universally 
acknowledged  by  the  Church. 

1  "  In  this  sense  the  term  was  first  Acts,    the   Pauhne   Epistles,    including 

applied  by  Origen  to  the  First  Epistle  the  Hebrews,  and  the  Apocalypse,  and 

of  Peter  and  the  First  Epistle  of  John.  thus  lost,    in    a   measure,    its   primary 

Afterwards,    but     before    the    time   of  meaning." — Gloag     on     The     Catholic 

Eusebius,    it   was   used   to   denote   the  Epistles,  p.  7. 

whole  seven  Epistles  as  being  descrip-  -  The  position  of  this  book  in  the  list 

tive   of  their   nature,   the   Second    and  of  the  Catholic  Epistles  is  attributed  by 

Third  Epistles  of  John  being  considered  Bede  to  the  primacy  of  James  in  the 

as  an  appendix  to  the  First.     In  process  early  Church  of  Jerusalem,  and  to  his 

of  time  it  became  a  technical  term,  used  connection  with  the  Twelve  Tribes,  who 

to  designate  that  group  of  Epistles  as  were  the  first  to  receive  the  Gospel, 

distinguished    from     the    other    three  ^  The  Hebrew  original  of  the  name  is 

groups  of  writings  in  the  New  Testa-  Jacob, 
ment,    namely,    the    Gospels    and    the 


XX.  James.  1 1 9 

In  the  fourth  century  the  claims  of  these  and  other 
writings  to  a  place  in  the  New  Testament  Canon  were 
carefully  sifted,  the  result  being  to  vindicate  the  character 
of  each  of  the  disputed  epistles  (as  appears  from  the  Decrees 
of  the  Council  of  Laodicea,  364  A.D.,  and  of  Carthage,  397 
A.D.),  while  a  num.ber  of  other  books  which,  although  not 
in  the  New  Testament,  had  been  read  in  church  along  with 
them  were  finally  disallowed.  (See  Chap,  i.  Note  on 
Canon.) 

With  regard  to  the  Epistle  of  James  in  particular,  the 
rarity  of  allusions  to  it  in  the  early  Christian  writers  may 
be  accounted  for  by  its  circulation  being  confined  to  Jewish 
Christians,  as  well  as  by  the  narrow  sphere  of  labour  in 
which  the  writer  himself  moved,  his  life  apparently  having 
been  entirely  spent  in  Jerusalem.  Although  we  do  not 
find  it  expressly  quoted  by  any  writer  earlier  than  Origen,^ 
yet  the  language  of  Clement  of  Rome,  and  still  more  clearly 
of  Hermas,  and  probably  also  of  Irenseus,^  would  lead  us 
to  believe  that  it  was  known  to  these  writers.  Still  more 
significant  is  the  fact  that  it  has  a  place  in  the  ancient 
Syriac  Version,  and  was  acknowledged  by  Ephraem  Syrus. 

The  internal  evidence  of  the  book  is  strongly  in  its 
favour,  and  it  is  now  generally  admitted  to  be  a  genuine 
work  of  "  James,  the  Lord's  brother,"^  who  presided  for 
many  years  over  the  Church  at  Jerusalem.  (i)  The 
writer's  modest  designation  of  himself— "James,  a  servant 
of  God  and  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ"*  is  against  the  idea 
of  forgery.  (2)  The  epistle  was  evidently  written  for  Jewish 
Christians  by  one  of  themselves.  Although  written  in  com- 
paratively pure  Greek,^  its  literary  character  as  a  whole  is 
essentially  Hebrew,  reminding  us  of  the  Book  of  Proverbs 
and  other  Jewish  writings  ;  it  speaks  of  Abraham  as  "our 

1  His  mode  of  citation  (eVT^(/)epo/xei'T7  apostles  saw  I  none,  save  James  the 
'la/cWjSoi/  e-mffroX-rj)  would  seem  to  indi-        Lord's  brother." 

cate  that  he  was  aware  of  some  uncer-  ,  l:  ^^         •               ■        .              x-   ■  .^ 

tainty  attaching  to  its  authorship.  ^  '  O^vmg,   it    may   be,   to  our  hp.stle 

2  He  reproduces  verbatim  James  ii.  being  the  translation  of  an  Aramaic 
23,  which  combines  Gen.  xv.  26  and  2  O'S'"^'  I'v  a  competent  Greek  scholar 
Chron.  XX.  7  (or  Is.  xli.  8).  acting  under  the  direction  of  James. 

3  Gal.    i.    19:     "  I5ut    other    of    the 


220 


New  Testament  and  Its  Writers. 


XX. 


father  "  ;  it  calls  the  readers'  place  of  worship  "  your  syna- 
gogue "  ;  it  calls  God  "  the  Lord  of  Sabaoth  "  ;  it  takes  for 
granted  an  acquaintance  with  Old  Testament  characters  ; 
it  alludes  to  Jewish  forms  of  oath  ;  it  refers  to  "  the  law  " 
as  still  binding  ;  and  it  contains  no  allusions  to  those  sins 
of  the  flesh  which  figure  so  prominently  in  epistles  designed 
for  Gentile  readers.^  (3)  It  bears  traces  of  having  been 
written  by  a  native  of  Palestine — in  its  allusions  to  "the 
scorching  wind,"  the  sea,  "sweet  water  and  bitter"  (the 
latter  referring  to  the  brackish  springs  of  the  country); 
the  vine,  olive,  and  fig  ;  "  the  early  and  latter  rain."  ^  (4) 
It  shows  a  familiar  acquaintance  with  Christ's  teaching, 
although  its  language  is  not  such  as  to  betray  an  imita- 


1  ii.  21:  "Was  not  Abraham  our 
father  justified  by  works,  in  that  he 
offered  up  Isaac  his  son  upon  the 
altar";  ii.  2:  "For  if  there  come 
into  your  synagogue  a  man  with  a 
gold  ring,  in  fine  clothing,  and  there 
come  in  also  a  poor  man  in  vile  cloth- 
ing"; V.  4:  "Behold,  the  hire  of  the 
labourers  who  mowed  your  fields,  which 
is  of  you  kept  back  by  fraud,  crieth  out : 
and  the  cries  of  them  that  reaped  have 
entered  into  the  ears  of  the  Lord  of 
Sabaoth  "  ;  ii.  25  :  "And  in  like  manner 
was  not  also  Rahab  the  harlot  justified 
by  works,  in  that  she  received  the  mes- 
sengers, and  sent  them  out  another 
way";  v.  10,  11,  17:  "Take,  brethren, 
for  an  example  of  suffering  and  of 
patience,  the  prophets  who  spake  in 
the  name  of  the  Lord.  Behold,  we  call 
them  blessed  which  endured  :  ye  have 
heard  of  the  patience  of  Job,  and  have 
seen  the  end  of  the  Lord,  how  that  the 
Lord  is  full  of  pity,  and  merciful.  .  .  . 
Elijah  was  a  man  of  like  passions  with 
us,  and  he  prayed  fervently  that  it  might 
not  rain  ;  and  it  rained  not  on  the  earth 
for  three  years  and  six  months  "  ;  v.  12  : 
"But  above  all  things,  my  brethren, 
swear  not,  neither  by  the  heaven,  nor 
by  the  earth,  nor  by  any  other  oath  : 
but  let  your  yea  be  yea,  and  your  nay, 
nay  ;  that  ye  fall  not  under  judgement  "  ; 
ii.  8-11  :  "  Howbeit  if  ye  fulfil  the  royal 
law,  according  to  the  scripture.  Thou 
shalt  love  thy  neighbour  as  thyself,  ye 
do  well :  but  if  ye  have  respect  of  per- 
sons, ye  commit  sin,  being  convicted  by 


the  law  as  transgressors.  For  whoso- 
ever shall  keep  the  whole  law,  and  yet 
stumble  in  one  point,  he  is  become 
guilty  of  all.  For  he  that  said.  Do  not 
commit  adultery,  said  also.  Do  not  kill. 
Now  if  thou  dost  not  commit  adultery, 
but  killest,  thou  art  become  a  trans- 
gressor of  the  law";  iv.  11:  "Speak 
not  one  against  another,  brethren.  He 
that  speaketh  against  a  brother,  or 
judgeth  his  brother,  speaketh  against 
the  law,  and  judgeth  the  law :  but  if 
thou  judgest  the  law,  thou  art  not  a 
doer  of  the  law,  but  a  judge." 

2  i.  II  :  "  For  the  sun  ariseth  with  the 
scorching  wind,  and  withereth  the  grass  ; 
and  the  hower  thereof  falleth,  and  the 
grace  of  the  fashion  of  it  perisheth  :  so 
also  shall  the  rich  man  fade  away  in  his 
goings";  i.  6 :  "But  let  him  ask  in 
faith,  nothing  doubting :  for  he  that 
doubteth  is  like  the  surge  of  the  sea 
driven  by  the  wind  and  tossed  "  ;  iii.  4  : 
"  Behold,  the  ships  also,  though  they  are 
so  great,  and  are  driven  by  rough  winds, 
are  yet  turned  about  by  a  very  small 
rudder,  whither  the  impulse  of  the  steers- 
man willeth  "  ;  iii.  11,  12:  "Doth  the 
fountain  send  forth  from  the  same  open- 
ing sweet  water  and  bitter  ?  can  a  fig 
tree,  my  brethren,  yield  olives,  or  a  vine 
figs  ?  neither  can  salt  water  yield  sweet "  ; 
v.  7:  "Be  patient  therefore,  brethren, 
until  the  coming  of  the  Lord.  Behold, 
the  husbandman  waiteth  for  the  precious 
fruit  of  the  earth,  being  patient  over 
it,  until  it  receive  the  early  and  latter 
rain." 


XX. 


James. 


221 


tion  of  our  Gospels.^  (5)  It  reflects  a  state  of  Jewish 
society — the  rich  oppressing  the  poor-  — which  is  described 
by  Josephus  and  other  Jewish  writers  as  prevaiHng  in  the 
period  succeeding  the  death  of  our  Lord,^  but  which  in  a 
great  measure  ceased  to  exist  after  the  rebelHon  that 
terminated  in  the  Destruction  of  Jerusalem. 

With  regard  to  the  author's  personal  history  the  follow- 
ing points  may  be  noted.  He  and  his  brothers  Joses, 
Simon,  and  Jude,  were  either  the  children  of  Joseph  and 
Mary,  and  younger  brothers  of  our  Lord,  or  else  they  were 
the  children  of  Joseph  by  a  former  marriage.'^     The  latter 

ings  of  our  Lord  than  we  have  now  the 
means  of  identifying  ;  and,  in  particular, 
that  what  is  said  of  our  Lord's  promise 
(i.  12)  of  '  a  crown  of  hfe,'  may  refer  to 
an  unrecorded  saying  of  the  Saviour." 
He  also  points  out  the  difference  in  this 
respect  between  the  writings  of  James 
and  those  of  Paul,  who  had  not  been  a 
personal  follower  of  our  Lord  during  His 
earthly  ministry.  "  Everywhere  the  lan- 
guage of  the  epistle  recalls  the  language 
of  our  Lord.  The  style  also  is  similar  ; 
the  brief,  compressed  sayings,  and  the 
frequent  use  of  figure  (see  i.  6,  ii,  17, 
23  ;  iii.  3,  4,  5-12).  This  would  seem  to 
argue  that  the  James  who  wrote  the 
letter  was  a  contemporary  and  friend  of 
Jesus." — Dod's  Introduction. 

-  ii.  6,  7  (quoted  p.  224,  jiote  3)  ;  v. 
1-6  (quoted  p.  224,  note  4). 

3  "  The  pride  and  luxury  of  the 
rich  Sadducean  party  were  at  their 
height.  They  filled  the  high  offices  of 
the  priesthood,  which  they  had  simon- 
iacally  purchased  with  money.  They 
tyrannized  over  the  poor.  Josephus 
tells  how  the  high  priests  sent  their 
servants  to  the  threshing-floors  to  take 
away  the  tithes  that  by  right  belonged 
to  the  poorer  priests,  beating  those 
who  refused  to  give  them,  and  that  some 
of  the  poorer  priests,  thus  defrauded 
of  their  maintenance,  actually  died 
of  want  "(Ant.  xx.,  viii.  8,  ix.  2). — 
Salmon. 

■*  Matt.  xiii.  55:  "Is  not  this  the 
carpenter's  son  ?  is  not  his  mother 
called  Mary?  and  his  brethren,  James, 
and  Joseph,  and  Simon,  and  Judas?" 
Mark  vi.  3  :  "Is  not  this  the  carpenter, 
the  son  of  Mary,  and  brother  of  James, 
and  Joses,  and  Judas,  and  Simon  ?  and 
are  not  his  sisters  here  with  us  ?  And 
they  were  offended  in  him." 


1  i.  5,  6  :  "  But  if  any  of  you  lacketh 
wisdom,  let  him  ask  of  God,  who  givelh 
to  all  liberally  and  upbraideth  not  ;  and 
it  shall  be  given  him.  But  let  him  ask 
in  faith,  nothing  doubting";  cf.  Matt. 
vii.  7,  8:  "Ask,  and  it  shall  be  given 
you ;  seek,  and  ye  shall  find ;  knock, 
and  it  shall  be  opened  unto  you :  for 
every  one  that  asketh  receiveth  ;  and  he 
that  seeketh  findeth  ;  and  to  him  that 
knocketh  it  shall  be  opened  "  ;  Mark  xi. 
23  :  "  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  Whosoever 
shall  say  unto  this  mountain.  Be  thou 
taken  up  and  cast  into  the  sea  ;  and 
shall  not  doubt  in  his  heart,  but  shall 
believe  that  what  he  saith  cometh  to 
pass;  he  shall  have  it."  i.  25:  "But 
he  that  looketh  into  the  perfect  law,  the 
law  of  liberty,  and  so  continueth,  being 
not  a  hearer  that  forgetteth,  but  a  doer 
that  worketh,  this  man  shall  be  blessed 
in  his  doing  "  ;  cf.  John  xiii.  17  :  "  If  ye 
know  these  things,  blessed  are  ye  if  ye 
do  them."  ii.  5:  "Hearken,  my  be- 
loved brethren ;  did  not  God  choose 
them  that  are  poor  as  to  the  world  to  be 
rich  in  faith,  and  heirs  of  the  kingdom 
which  he  promised  to  them  that  love 
him";  cf.  Luke  vi.  20:  "And  he  lifted 
up  his  eyes  on  his  disciples,  and  said. 
Blessed  are  ye  poor  :  for  yours  is  the 
kingdom  of  God."  iv.  g  :  "Be  afflicted, 
and  mourn,  and  weep  :  let  your  laughter 
be  turned  to  mourning,  and  your  joy  to 
heaviness";  cf.  Luke  vi.  25:  "Woe 
unto  you,  ye  that  laugh  now  !  for  ye 
shall  mourn  and  weep."  iv.  lo : 
"Humble  yourselves  in  the  sight  of 
the  Lord,  and  he  shall  exalt  you"; 
cf.  Matt,  xxiii.  12:  "And  whosoever 
shall  humble  himself  shall  be  exalted"  ; 
Compare  p.  226,  note  i.  Dr  Salmon 
suggests  that  "a  great  deal  more  of 
James'  epistle  may  be  founded  on  say- 


2  22  New  Testament  and  Its  Writers.  xx. 

supposition  seems  the  more  probable,  both  because  it  is 
in  harmony  with  the  earliest  traditions  of  antiquity,  and 
because  it  helps  to  explain  the  attitude  of  James  and  his 
brothers  towards  Jesus  during  His  lifetime,  and  the  com- 
mittal of  Mary  to  the  keeping,  not  of  her  stepsons,  but  of 
the  apostle  John.^  We  find  that  at  an  advanced  period  in 
our  Lord's  ministry  His  brethren  did  not  believe  in  Him  ; 
but  immediately  after  the  Ascension  they  are  associated 
with  the  disciples  in  the  upper  room.- 

According  to  a  tradition,  which  we  have  no  reason  to 
disbelieve,  their  conversion  was  due  to  the  appearance  of 
the  risen  Lord  to  James,  which  is  mentioned  by  the  apostle 
Paul.^  Among  the  Christians  at  Jerusalem  James  soon 
took  a  prominent  place,  being,  indeed,  the  recognised  head 
of  the  Church  there  after  the  death  of  James  the  brother  of 
John  (44  A.D.)  and  the  dispersion  of  the  other  apostles.* 
This  commanding  position  he  owed  partly  to  the  special 
relation  in  which  he  stood  to  Jesus,  and  partly  to  his  own 
high  character,  which  procured  for  him  the  name  of  the 
Just  (or  Righteous)  and  Oblias  ("  the  bulwark  of  the 
people  ").  He  is  said  to  have  been  a  Nazarite,  and  so  much 
given  to  prayer  in  the  Temple  that  his  knees  had  grown 
hard  like  those  of  a  camel.  He  was  essentially  a  Hebrew 
of  the  Hebrews,  who  clung  to  the  law  and  the  prophets, 
and  valued  the  Gospel  as  their  fulfilment.     Hence  his  name 

1  Matt.  xii.  46  :  "  While  he  was  yet  women,  and  Mary  the  mother  of  Jesus, 
speaking  to  the  multitudes,  behold,  his       and  with  his  brethren." 

mother  and  his  brethren  stood  without,  »  i  Cor.  .\v.  7:   "Then  he  appeared 

seeking  to  speak  to  him."      John  vii.  3-  to  James  ;  then  to  all  the  apostles." 

5:   "His  brethren  therefore  said  unto  ■*  Cf.    Acts   xii.    17:     "But    he   {i.e. 

him.  Depart  hence,  and  go  into  Judtea,  Peter),  beckoning  unto  them  with  the 

that  thy  disciples  also  may  behold  thy  hand  to  hold  their  peace,  declared  unto 

works  which  thou  doest.     For  no  man  them  how  the  Lord  had  brought  him 

doeth  anything  in  secret,  and  himself  forth  out  of  the  prison.     And  he  said, 

seeketh  to  be  known  openly.     If  thou  Tell  these  things  unto  James,  and  to 

doest  these  things,  manifest  thyself  to  the  brethren "  ;  Acts  xv.   13,  14:   "And 

the  world.     For  even  his  brethren  did  after  they  had  held  their  peace,  James 

not   believe   on  him."      John  xix.   26:  answered,    saying.     Brethren,    hearken 

"  When  Jesus  therefore  saw  his  mother,  unto  me,"  (S:c.  ;  Acts  xxi.  17,  18  :  "  And 

and  the  disciple  standing  by,  whom  he  when  we  were  come  to  Jerusalem,  the 

loved,  he  saith  unto  his  mother.  Woman,  brethren  received  us  gladly.     And  the 

behold,  thy  son  !  "  day  following  Paul  went  in  with  us  unto 

2  John  vii.  5  (quoted  above) ;  Acts  i.  James  ;  and  all  the  elders  were  pre- 
14:   "These  all  with  one  accord  con-  sent." 

tinned   stedfastly   in   prayer,    with    the 


XX.  James.  223 

was  sometimes  used  by  the  Judaising  party  in  opposition 
to  Paul  ^ — as  it  was  long  after  his  death  in  the  ecclesiastical 
romance  contained  in  the  Pseudo-Clementine  Homilies 
and  Recognitions.  James  himself  recognised  Paul  as  the 
apostle  of  the  Gentiles,  and  did  not  insist  on  a  full  observ- 
ance of  the  law  by  Gentile  converts,-  and  in  this  epistle  it 
is  "  the  perfect  law,  the  law  of  liberty,"  he  inculcates — "  the 
royal  law,  according  to  the  scripture,  Thou  shalt  love  thy 
neighbour  as  thyself."  ^  He  died  a  death  of  martyrdom, 
stoned  by  the  Jews — as  Josephus  and  Hegesippus  relate — 
shortly  before  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  for  his  testi- 
mony to  Jesus  as  the  Messiah. 

2.    The  Readers. 

"To  the  twelve  tribes  which  are  of  the  Dispersion." * 
In  view  of  the  Jewish  traits  in  the  epistle,  which  have  been 
already  pointed  out,  and  having  regard  to  the  migratory 
habits  of  the  readers,'^  there  is  no  reason  to  take  these 
opening  words  in  any  other  than  a  literal  sense.  Jews  of 
the  Dispersion  were  to  be  found  in  almost  every  part  of 

1  Gal.  ii.  II,  12  :  "  But  when  Cephas  from  the  pollutions  of  idols,  and  from 
came  to  Antioch,  I  resisted  him  to  the  fornication,  and  from  what  is  strangled, 
face,  because  he  stood  condemned.  For  and  from  blood.  For  Moses  from  gener- 
before  that  certain  came  from  James,  ations  of  old  hath  in  every  city  them  that 
he  did  eat  with  the  Gentiles  :  but  when  preach  him,  being  read  in  the  synagogues 
they  came,  he  drew  back  and  separated  every  sabbath.  ...  It  seemed  good  unto 
himself,  fearing  them  that  were  of  the  us,  having  come  to  one  accord,  to  choose 
circumcision  "  \  cf.  Acts  .xv.  24  :  "  For-  out  men  and  send  them  unto  you  with 
asmuch  as  we  have  heard  that  certain  our  beloved  Barnabas  and  Paul,  men 
which  went  out  from  us  have  troubled  that  have  hazarded  their  lives  for  the 
you  with  words,  subverting  your  souls  ;  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 

to  whom  we  gave  no  commandment."  ^  i.  25,  cf.  ii.  12  ;  ii.  8. 

2  Gal.  ii.  9:  "and  when  they  per-  ^  '•  i  :  f/ Jphn  vii.  35:  "The  Jews 
ceived  the  grace  that  was  given  unto  me,  therefore  said  among  themselves, 
James  and  Cephas  and  John,  they  who  Whither  will  this  man  go  that  we  shall 
were  reputed  to  be  pillars,  gave  to  me  not  find  him  ?  will  he  go  unto  the  Dis- 
and  Barnabas  the  right  hands  of  fellow-  persion  among  the  Greeks  and  teach 
ship,  that  we  should  go  unto  the  Gen-  the  Greeks  ?  The  word  dMairopa 
tiles,  and  they  unto  the  circumcision  "  ;  ("dispersion")  is  first  found  in  this  sense 
Acts  XV.  13-21,  25,  26:  "And  after  m  the  Septuagint  of  Deut.  x.xviii.  25, 
they  had  held  their  peace,  James  an-  ^c^V  Sia<nropa  ev  wacrais  ^affiXdais  rij^ 
swered,  saying,  Brethren,  hearken  unto  717s. 

me:  .  .  .  Wherefore  my  judgement  is,  ^  iv.  13:   "Goto  now,  ye  that  say, 

that  we  trouble  not  them  which  from  To-day  or   to-morrow  we  will  go  into 

among  the  Gentiles  turn  to  God ;  but  that  this  city,  and  spend  a  year  there,  and 

we  write  unto  them,  that  they  abstain  trade,  and  get  gain." 


224  New  Testament  and  Its  Writers.  xx. 

the  world,  as  appears  from  the  narrative  of  the  events 
which  took  place  on  the  first  Christian  Pentecost^  The  ex- 
pression there  used  to  describe  the  pilgrims  who  came  up  to 
Jerusalem,  "devout  men  from  every  nation  under  heaven,"  is 
supported  by  the  evidence  of  many  independent  witnesses, 
such  as  Philo  and  Josephus.  These  exiled  Jews  were  chiefly 
located  in  Babylon,  Syria,  and  Egypt  ;  and  it  was  probably 
to  those  resident  in  Syria  that  copies  of  this  epistle  would  be 
first  sent.  The  epistle  is  addressed  to  Christian  Jews,^  of 
whom  there  were  many  in  Syria  liable  to  persecution  and 
violence  similar  to  that  which  Saul  was  inflicting  on  the 
Christians  previous  to  his  conversion.^  While  addressing 
himself  mainly  to  Christian  readers,  the  writer  seems  also 
to  have  occasionally  in  view  his  unbelieving  countrymen. 
The  denunciations  in  the  last  chapter  may  be  regarded  as 
an  apostrophe  to  the  wealthy  unbelievers,  chiefly  of  the 
sect  of  the  Sadducees,  who  truckled  to  the  Romans  and 
oppressed  their  poorer  brethren,  especially  those  who  pro- 
fessed Christianity.^  James  would  have  many  opportun- 
ities of  hearing  of  the  trials  which  beset  his  believing 
countrymen    in    their   distant   homes  ;    and,  as   he  seems 

1  Acts  ii.  S-ii.  the  most  serious  penalties,  and  especi- 

2  ii.  I,  7:  "My  brethren,  hold  not  ally  death,  were  beyond  the  independent 
the  faith  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  Jewish  jurisdiction ;  but  still  much 
Lord  of  glory,  with  respect  of  persons.  suffering  could  be  legally  inflicted  by 
Do  not  they  blaspheme  the  honourable  Jews  on  other  Jews,  unless  the  victims 
name  by  the  which  ye  are  called  ?  "  v.  possessed  the  Roman  citizenship.  Hence 
7,8:  "Be  patient  therefore,  brethren,  the  situation  of  Jewish  Christians  be- 
until  the  coming  of  the  Lord.  Behold,  fore  A.D.  64  was  much  more  serious 
the  husbandman  waiteth  for  the  prec-  than  that  of  Gentile  Christians  ;  but 
ious  fruit  of  the  earth,  being  patient  after  that  year  official  Roman  action 
over  it,  until  it  receive  the  early  and  could  be  invoked  with  confident  ex- 
latter  rain.  Be  ye  also  patient ;  stablish  pectation  of  success  against  both  classes, 
your  hearts:  for  the  coming  of  the  and  after  A.d.  70  the  self-governing 
Lord  is  at  hand."  privileges  of  the  Jews  were  entirely  with- 

3ii.  6,  7:   "  But  ye  have  dishonoured  drawn." — Ramsay,    The  Church  in  the 

the  poor  man.     Do  not  the  rich  oppress  Ro7}ian  Empire,  p.  349. 
you,  and   themselves  drag  you  before  ^  v.  1-6:   "Goto  now,  ye  rich,  weep 

the    judgement-seats?       Do    not    they  and    howl   for    your   miseries   that  are 

blaspheme      the      honourable      name  coming    upon    you.  .  .  .   Behold,    the 

by   the  which    ye  are    called?"    Acts  hire  of  the  labourers  who  mowed  your 

ix.  I,  2.     "James  wrote  to  Jews,  who  fields,  which   is   of   you  kept  back  by 

were    not   governed  solely  by   Roman  fraud,  crieth  out :  and  the  cries  of  them 

law,   but  who,   down   to   a.d.  70,   ad-  that  reaped  have  entered  into  the  ears 

ministered  justice   to   a   certain   extent  of  the  Lord  of  Sabaoth.   ...  Ye  have 

among   themselves,   according   to  their  condemned,  ye  have  killed  the  righteous 

own  sacred  law,  even  in  Roman  cities  one ;  he  doth  not  resist  you." 
of  the  Eastern  provinces.      Of  course 


XX.  James.  225 

never  to  have  left  Jerusalem,  it  was  natural  that  under  a 
sense  of  the  high  responsibility  attaching  to  his  position  he 
should  wish  to  address  them  in  writing,  as  he  does  in  this 
epistle. 

3.  Date  and  Place  of  Composition. 

As  both  Scripture  and  tradition  concur  in  representing 
James  as  having  constantly  resided  at  Jerusalem,  there 
is  no  reason  to  doubt  that  the  letter  emanated  from  that 
city.  With  regard  to  the  date  of  its  composition  there  is 
less  certainty.  That  it  was  written  before  the  outbreak  of 
the  war,  66  A.D.,  which  put  an  end  to  the  Sadducean 
ascendency,  is  generally  admitted.  We  may  also  infer 
from  the  absence  of  any  allusions  to  the  sharp  controversy 
regarding  the  obligations  of  the  Jewish  law  on  Gentile 
converts,  which  gave  rise  to  the  Council  of  Jerusalem 
(50  A.D.),  that  it  was  either  written  before  that  event,  or 
not  for  some  years  afterwards. 

On  the  whole,  considering  the  marked  absence  from  the 
epistle  of  anything  like  developed  Christian  doctrine,  the 
continued  expectation  which  it  exhibits  of  Christ's  speedy 
coming  to  judge  the  world,^  and  the  application  of  the 
term  Synagogue  to  an  assembly  of  Christian  worshippers,- 
we  are  justified  in  assigning  to  the  epistle  a  very  early 
date — say  44-49  a.d.  If  this  supposition  be  correct,  we 
have  here  the  oldest  book  of  the  New  Testament.^ 

^  V.  8  :  "  Be  ye  also  patient ;  stablish  expressions  supposed   to  be  borrowed 

your  hearts :    for   the   coming   of    the  from  the  Pauline  epistles  are,   in  fact, 

Lord  is  at  hand."  no  more  than  expressions   peculiar  to 

2  ii.  2  :  "  For  if  there  come  into  your  the  controversy,  which  might  have  been 
synagogue  a  man  with  a  gold  ring,  in  usedwhenever  and  by  whomsoever  it  was 
fine  clothing,  and  there  come  in  also  a  entered  on  "  (Alford).  The  resem- 
poor  man  in  vile  clothing."  In  keeping  blances  to  i  Peter,  however,  are  so 
with  this  is  the  fact  that  the  only  office-  striking  that  it  can  hardly  be  doubted 
bearers  mentioned  are  "the  elders "  (roi)s  St.  Peter  was  well  acquainted  with 
irpecT^vTe'povs).  "Is  any  among  you  this  epistle.  i.  2,  3:  "Count  it  all 
sick?  let  him  call  for  the  elders  of  the  joy,  my  brethren,  when  ye  fall  into 
church"  (v.  14).  The  "judgement-  manifold  temptations;  knowmg  that  the 
seats  "  referred  to  in  ii.  6  (quoted  p.  224,  proof  of  your  faith  worketh  patience  "  ; 
fiote  3)  were  in  all  probability  the  f/.  i  Peter  1.  6,  7  :  "  Wherein  ye  greatly 
national  tribunals  of  the  Jews.  rejoice,  though  now  for  a  little  while,  if 

3  The  alleged  references  to  Paul's  »eed  be,  ye  have  been  put  to  grief  in 
writings  cannot  be  substantiated.    "The  manifold  temptations,  that  the  proof  of 


226 


Nezv  Testament  and  Its  Writers. 


XX. 


4,   Character  and  Contents.  • 

This  epistle  is  less  doctrinal  or  theological  than  any- 
other  in  the  New  Testament.  It  partakes  largely  of  the 
ethical  character  of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  which  it 
resembles,  not  only  in  its  general  tone  and  sentiment,  but 
in  many  of  its  expressions.^  Its  tone  is  eminently  practical, 
the  object  of  the  writer  being  to  inculcate  Christian  moral- 
ity as  essential  to  salvation.-  But  it  gives  a  prominent 
place  to  faith  and  patience,^  and  includes  in  its  good  works 


your  faith,  being  more  precious  than 
gold  that  perisheth  though  it  is  proved 
by  fire,  might  be  found  unto  praise  and 
glory  and  honour  at  the  revelation  of 
Jesus  Christ."  i.  10,  11:  "And  the 
rich,  in  that  he  is  made  low :  because 
as  the  flower  of  the  grass  he  shall  pass 
away.  For  the  sun  ariseth  with  the 
scorching  wind,  and  withereth  the 
grass  ;  and  the  flower  thereof  falleth, 
and  the  grace  of  the  fashion  of  it  perish- 
eth :  so  also  shall  the  rich  man  fade  away 
in  his  goings";  cf.  i  Pet.  i.  24:  "For, 
All  flesh  is  as  grass,  And  all  the  glory 
thereof  as  the  flower  of  grass.  The 
grass  withereth,  and  the  flower  falleth." 
(In  both  there  is  a  quotation  from  Isa. 
xl.  7.)  i.  18:  "Of  his  own  will  he 
brought  us  forth  by  the  word  of  truth, 
that  we  should  be  a  kind  of  firstfruits  of 
his  creatures  "  ;  cf.  i  Pet.  i.  3  :  "  Blessed 
be  the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  who  according  to  his  great  mercy 
begat  us  again  unto  a  living  hope  by  the 
resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ  from  the 
dead."  i.  21 :  "  Wherefore  putting  away 
all  filthiness  and  overflowing  of  wicked- 
ness, receive  with  meekness  the  im- 
planted word,  which  is  able  to  save 
your  souls  "  \  cf.\  Pet.  ii.  i,  2 :  "  Putting 
away  therefore  all  wickedness,  and  all 
guile,  and  hypocrisies,  and  envies,  and 
all  evil  speakings,  as  newborn  babes, 
long  for  the  spiritual  milk  which  is 
without  guile,  that  ye  may  grow  there- 
by unto  salvation."  iv.  6,  7,  10:  "But 
he  giveth  more  grace.  Wherefore  the 
scripture  saith,  God  resisteth  the  proud, 
but  giveth  grace  to  the  humble.  Be 
subject  therefore  unto  God  ;  but  resist 
the  devil,  and  he  will  flee  from  you.  .  .  . 
Humble  yourselves  in  the  sight  of  the 
Lord,  and  he  shall  e.xalt  you  "  ;  cf.\  Pet. 


V.  5-9  :  "  Likewise,  ye  younger,  be  sub- 
ject unto  the  elder.  Yea,  all  of  you 
gird  yourselves  with  humility,  to  serve 
one  another :  for  God  resisteth  the 
proud,  but  giveth  grace  to  the  humble. 
Humble  yourselves  therefore  under  the 
mighty  hand  of  God,  that  he  may  exalt 
you  in  due  time ;  casting  all  your  anxiety 
upon  him,  because  he  careth  for  you. 
Be  sober,  be  watchful :  your  adversary 
the  devil,  as  a  roaring  lion,  walketh 
about,  seeking  whom  he  may  devour : 
whom  withstand  stedfast  in  your  faith, 
knowing  that  the  same  sufferings  are 
accomplished  in  your  brethren  who  are 
in  the  world."  (In  both  cases  there  is 
a  quotation  from  Prov.  iii.  34:  "God 
resisteth  the  proud,  but  giveth  grace  to 
the  humble";  with  the  same  slight 
departure  from  the  Septuagint,  and 
followed  by  the  same  exhortation.) 
v.  20:  "Let  him  know,  that  he  which 
converteth  a  sinner  from  the  error  of  his 
way  shall  save  a  soul  from  death,  and 
shall  cover  a  multitude  of  sins";  cf. 
I  Pet.  iv.  8  :  "  .'\bove  all  things  being 
fervent  in  your  love  among  yourselves  ; 
for  love  covereth  a  multitude  of  sins." 
(In  both  the  same  expression  is  borrowed 
from  Prov.  x.  12  :  "shall  cover  a  multi- 
tude of  sins.") 

1  "Essentially  it  is  the  teaching  of 
Christ,  and  thus  there  is  little  teaching 
about  Christ"  (Beyschlag).  i.  2;  cf. 
Matt.  V.  II,  12.  i.  4;  cf.  Matt.  v.  48. 
i.  20 ;  cf.  Matt.  v.  22.  ii.  13  ;  cf.  Matt. 
vi.  14,  15.  ii.  14 ;  cf  Matt.  vii.  21-23. 
iv.  4  ;  cf.  Matt.  vi.  24.  iv.  10  ;  cf.  Matt, 
v.  3,  4.  iv.  II  ;  cf.  Matt.  vii.  i,  2.  v.  2  ; 
cf.  Matt.  vi.  19.  v.  10 ;  cf.  Matt.  v.  12. 
v.  12 ;  (/.  Matt.  V.  34-37. 

2  E.g.  ii.  14-26. 

•^  E.g.  i.  2-12. 


XX.  James.  227 

the  careful  ruling  of  the  tongue.^ '  It  also  dwells  much  on  the 
wisdom  -  which  should  characterise  the  religious  man,  and 
refers  in  detail  to  many  other  forms  of  duty — Christian 
practice  being  to  the  writer  the  highest  form  of  outward 
worship.^  The  style  of  the  epistle  is  sententious  and 
forcible,  passing  swiftly,  and  sometimes  without  any  appar- 
ent logical  formation,  from  one  topic  to  another,  and  it  has 
about  it  not  a  little  of  the  vehemence  and  fervour  of  the 
old  prophets.  James  does  not  hesitate  to  denounce  in 
very  strong  and  plain  terms,  which  savour,  in  some 
respects,  of  the  language  of  Amos,  the  greed  and  cruelty 
of  the  rich,  the  servility  of  the  poor,  and  the  general  vanity, 
strife,  hypocrisy,  and  worldly-mindedness  which  were 
characteristic  of  the  Jews  at  this  period  of  their  history, 
and  had  begun  to  infect  the  Christians  in  their  midst.^ 

He  insists  on  cJiaracter  as  the  test  of  true  religion,  and 
demands  that  a  man  shall  show  the  reality  of  his  faith  by 
his  life  and  conduct.  In  his  protests  against  an  empty 
profession  of  religion,  he  is  led  into  the  use  of  language 
which  has  sometimes  been  supposed  (by  Luther,  for 
example)  to  be  irreconcilably  at  variance  with  the 
teaching  of  Paul.  But  in  reality  there  is  no  such  incon- 
sistency between  them.^ 

1  iii.  I-I2.  will  the  new  moon  be  gone,   that  we 

"^  E.g.  iii.  13-18.      Hence  James  has  may  sell  corn?  and  the  sabbath,  that  we 

been  called  "the  Apostle  of  Wisdom"  ;  may  set  forth  wheat,  making  the  ephah 

and  the  designation  given  to  him  in  the  small,  and  the  shekel  great,  and  dealing 

Greek  liturgy  is  that   of   "James   the  falsely   with   balances   of    deceit?  .  .  . 

Wise."  And  I  will  turn  your  feasts  into  mourn- 

3  i,  27:  "Pure  religion  (dp7]aKeia)  ing,  and  all  your  songs  into  lamenta- 
and  undefiled  before  our  God  and  tion ;  and  I  will  bring  up  sackcloth 
Father  is  this,  to  visit  the  fatherless  upon  all  loins,  and  baldness  upon  every 
and  widows  in  their  affliction,  and  head  ;  and  I  will  make  it  as  the  mourn- 
to  keep  himself  unspotted  from  the  ing  for  an  only  son,  and  the  end  thereof 
world."  as  a  bitter  day. "     v.  5  :  "Ye  have  lived 

*  iv.  13:    "Go  to  now,  ye  that  say,  delicately  on  the  earth,  and  taken  your 

To-day  or  to-morrow  we  will  go  into  pleasure  ;  ye  have  nourished  your  hearts 

this  city,  and  spend  a  year  there,  and  in  a  day  of  slaughter"  ;  Amos  vi.  3-6: 

trade,  and  get  gain  "  ;  v.  i,  2  :   "  Go  to  "Ye  that  put  far  away  the  evil  day,  and 

now,  ye  rich,  weep  and  howl  for  your  cause  the  seat  of  violence  to  come  near  ; 

miseries   that   are   coming    upon    you.  that  lie  upon  beds  of  ivory,  and  stretch 

Your   riches   are   corrupted,    and    your  themselves  upon  their  couches,  and  eat 

garments  are  moth-eaten";    cf.  Amos  the   lambs   out   of  the   flock,    and   the 

viii.  4-10  :   "  Hear  this,  O  ye  that  would  calves  out  of  the  midst  of  the  stall,"  cS:c. 

swallow  up  the  needy,  and  cause  the  ^  At  the  same  time  it  is  quite  possible 

poor  of  the  land  to  fail,  Saying,  When  that  the  misrepresentations  referred  to 


22  8  New  Testament  and  Its  Writers.  xx. 

The  good  works  which  James  contends  for  are  altogether 
different  from  the  ritualistic  observances  which  Paul  refused 
to  acknowledge  as  necessary  for  salvation  ;  the  justification 
he  has  in  view  in  this  epistle  is  not  the  initial  admission 
into  the  Divine  favour  which  Paul's  Gentile  converts 
needed,  but  the  continuance  of  God's  people  in  a  state  of 
grace  to  which  they  are  already  called  ;  while  the  faith 
which  he  depreciates  is  not  that  personal  union  with  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  which  Paul  declared  to  be  all-important 
for  the  Christian,  but  mere  intellectual  belief,  such  as  the 
acceptance  of  the  monotheistic  doctrine  that  lay  at  the 
foundation  of  the  Jewish  faith.^  No  one  can  read  such 
language  as  is  quoted  below  ^  without  seeing  that  Paul 
would  have  concurred  most  heartily  in  all  that  this  epistle 
says  about  the  necessity  for  carrying  religion  into  practice. 

in   Acts   XV.    24:     "Forasmuch   as   we  men";    Rom.    ii.    17-27:    "...  thou 

have  heard  that  certain  which  went  out  therefore  that  teachest  another,  teachest 

from  us  have  troubled  you  with  words,  thou  not  thyself?  thou  that  preachest  a 

subverting    your   souls  ;    to   whom   we  man  should  not  steal,  dost  thou  steal  ? 

gave    no    commandment,"    may    have  thou  that  sayest  a  man  should  not  com- 

been   due   to   a    perversion    of    James'  mit  adultery,   ddst  thou  commit  adul- 

teaching  in  such  a  passage  as  ii.   10:  tery?    thou  that   abhorrest   idols,  dost 

"For  whosoever  shall  keep  the  whole  thou  rob  temples?  thou  who  gloriest  in 

law,  and  yet  stumble  in  one  point,  he  is  the   law,   through  thy  transgression  of 

become  guilty  of  all."     Similarly  it  may  the  law  dishonourest  thou  God?     For 

have  been  some  unworthy  exponent  of  the  name  of  God  is  blasphemed  among 

Paul's  doctrine  that  James  had  in  view  the  Gentiles  because  of  you,  even  as  it  is 

when  he  used  such  language  as  ii.  20:  written.    For  circumcision  indeed  profit- 

"  But  wilt  thou  know,  O  vain  man,  that  eth,  if  thou  be  a  doer  of  the  law  :  but  if 

faith  apart  from  works  is  barren."  thou  be  a  transgressor  of  the  law,  thy 

1  ii.  19  :  "  Thou  believest  that  God  is  circumcision  is  become  uncircumcision. 
one  ;  thou  doest  well :  the  devils  also  If  therefore  the  uncircumcision  keep  the 
believe,  and  shudder."  ordinances  of  the  law,  shall  not  his  un- 

2  Titus  iii.  8  :  "  Faithful  is  the  saying,  circumcision  be  reckoned  for  circum- 
and  concerning  these  things  I  will  that  cision  ?  and  shall  not  the  uncircumcision 
thou  affirm  confidently,  to  the  end  that  which  is  by  nature,  if  it  fulfil  the  law, 
they  which  have  believed  God  may  be  judge  thee,  who  with  the  letter  and 
careful  to  maintain  good  works.  These  circumcision  art  a  transgressor  of  the 
things   are   good    and    profitable  unto  law?" 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

"  THE   FIRST   EPISTLE   GENERAL   OF   PETER." 

r.  Author  ship. 

There  is  abundant  evidence  to  prove  that  this  epistle  was 
written  by  the  apostle  whose  name  it  bears.  Hardly  any 
book  of  the  New  Testament  is  better  supported  by  external 
evidence,^  while  internally  it  bears  in  many  of  its  features 
the  stamp  of  Peter's  mind,  and  the  traces  of  his  experience, 
as  these  are  represented  to  us  in  the  Gospels  and  in  the 
Book  of  Acts. 

From  these  sources  we  learn  that  the  apostle  was  origin- 
ally called  "  Simon  the  son  of  John,"  and  that  he  was  a 
fisherman  of  Bethsaida  before  he  attached  himself  to  Jesus. 
With  his  brother  Andrew,  who  brought  him  to  Jesus,  he 
was  a  disciple  of  John  the  Baptist  before  finding  the 
Messiah.  At  His  very  first  interview  with  the  new  disciple, 
Jesus  discerned  his  great  capacity  for  rendering  service  to  His 
cause,  and  gave  him  a  prophetic  token  of  the  part  he  was  to 
play  in  the  early  history  of  His  Church  by  conferring  on  him 
the  new  name  of  Cephas  (in  Greek,  Peter,  meaning  rock  or 
stone).-  The  significance  of  the  name  was  more  fully 
unfolded  at  a  later  time,  on  the  occasion  of  Peter's  great 

1  Clement  of  Rome  and  Hernias  seem  2  John  i.  40-42  :   ''  One  of  the  two  that 

to  have  known  it  ;   Polycarp  frequently  heard  John  speak,   and  followed   him, 

quotes  from    it;    Papias    used     it,    as  was   Andrew,    Simon    Peters    brother. 

Eusebius     tells    us    (who    included    it  He  findeth  first  his  own  brother  Simon, 

among   the   undisputed    Books   of    the  and  saith  unto  him.  We  have  found  the 

New   Testament)  ;    it  is  recognised  hy  Messiah   (which    is,   being   interpreted, 

Irenaeus,  Clement  of  Alexandria,   and  Christ).     He  brought  him  unto  Jesus. 

Tertullian  ;  it  has  a  place  in  the  oldest  Jesus  looked  upon  him,  and  said,  Thou 

Versions  (although  not  in  the  Muratorian  art  Simon  the  son  of  John  :  thou  shall 

Canon) ;  and  it  is  referred  to  in  2  Peter  be  called    Cephas  (which    is   l)y   intcr- 

(iii.  I ),  whose  antiquity  is  acknowledged  pretation,  Peter)." 
even  by  those  who  deny  its  genuineness. 


230  New  Testaiiient  and  Its  Writers.  xxi. 

confession  of  Jesus  as  the  Christ.^  Like  John  and  James, 
Peter  was  admitted  to  a  closer  fellowship  with  his  Master 
than  the  rest  of  the  disciples.^  In  company  with  John  he 
was  a  witness  of  Christ's  trial  in  the  high  priest's  palace, 
where  he  fell  into  the  threefold  denial  of  his  Master — to  be 
bitterly  repented  of  immediately  afterwards.^  On  the 
third  day  after  the  crucifixion  the  same  disciples  went 
together  early  in  the  morning  to  the  tomb  and  found  it 
empty,  as  Mary  Magdalene  had  told  them.  The  new  faith 
which  then  sprang  up  in  Peter's  heart  was  confirmed  by 
several  interviews  granted  to  him  by  the  risen  Christ,  who 
gave  him  a  new  commission,  thrice  uttered,  to  devote 
himself  to  the  interests  of  his  Master's  flock,  and  predicted 
that  he  would  die  a  martyr's  death."^ 

In  the  Book  of  Acts  we  find  Peter  acting  as  the  leader 
and  spokesman  of  the  early  Church  at  several  crises  in  its 
history,  viz.,  the  election  of  an  apostle  in  place  of  the 
betrayer ;  the  descent  of  the  Holy  Spirit  on  the  day  of 
Pentecost  ;  the  admission  of  the  Gentiles,  in  the  person  of 
Cornelius,  the  Roman  centurion,  to  the  communion  of  the 
Church  ;  and  the  emancipation  of  the  Gentile  converts 
from  the  bondage  of  the  Jewish   law  at  the  Council  of 

1  Matt.  xvi.  13-19  :  "  Nowvvhen Jesus  to  follow  with  him,  save  Peter,  and 
came  into  the  parts  of  Cassarea  Philippi,  James,  and  John  the  brother  of  James." 
he  asked  his  disciples,  saying,  Who  do  Matt.  xvii.  i,  2:  "And  after  six  days 
men  say  that  the  Son  of  man  is?  And  Jesus  taketh  with  him  Peter,  and  James, 
they  said,  Some  say  John  the  Baptist  ;  and  John  his  brother,  and  bringeth 
some,  Elijah  :  and  others,  Jeremiah,  or  them  up  into  a  high  mountain  apart  : 
one  of  the  prophets.  He  saith  unto  and  he  was  transfigured  before  them  : 
them.  But  who  say  ye  that  I  am  ?  And  and  his  face  did  shine  as  the  sun,  and 
Simon  Peter  answered  and  said.  Thou  his  garments  became  white  as  the 
art  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  God.  light."  Matt.  xxvi.  37  (inGethsemane) : 
And  Jesus  answered  and  said  unto  him,  ''  And  he  took  with  him  Peter  and  the 
Blessed  art  thou,  Simon  Bar-Jonah  :  for  two  sons  of  Zebedee,  and  began  to  be 
flesh  and  blood  hath  not  revealed  it  unto  sorrowful  and  sore  troubled  "  ;  cf.  Mark 
thee,  but  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven.  iii.  14,  17  :  "  And  he  appointed  twelve. 
And  I  also  say  unto  thee,  that  thou  art  that  they  might  be  with  him,  and  that 
Peter,  and  upon  this  rock  I  will  build  he  might  send  them  forth  to  preach, 
my  church  ;  and  the  gates  of  Hades  .  .  .  and  James  the  son  of  Zebedee, 
shall  not  prevail  against  it.  I  will  give  and  John  the  brother  of  James  ;  and 
unto  thee  the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of  them  he  surnamed  Boanerges,  which  is, 
heaven:    and    whatsoever    thou    shalt  Sons  of  thunder." 

bind  on  earth  shall  be  bound  in  heaven  :  ^  Matt.  xxvi.  69-75  I  Mark  xiv.  66-72  ; 

and  whatsoever  thou  shalt  loose  on  earth  Luke  xxii.  54-62  ;  John  xviii.  15-27. 

shall  be  loosed  in  heaven."  •*  John  xx.  i-io,  19  ;  Luke  xxiv.  33,  34  ; 

2  Mark    v.     37    (Raising     of    Jairus'  i  Cor.  xv.  5;  John  xxi. 
daughter):   "And  he  suffered  no   man 


XXI.  I  Peter. 


2^1 


Jerusalem  (about  50  A.u.).i  It  appears  that  some  time 
afterwards  Peter  was  guilty  of  vacillation  in  his  relations 
with  Gentile  Christians  at  Antioch  —  reminding  us  of 
his  earlier  weakness^ — which  called  forth  a  public  remon- 
strance from  the  apostle  of  the  Gentiles.- 

Regarding  Peter's  subsequent  life,  scarcely  any  informa- 
tion is  furnished  by  the  New  Testament  ;  but  there  is  an 
ancient  and  general  tradition  that  he  suffered  martyrdom 
at  Rome.^  Many  legends  have  gathered  round  his  im- 
prisonment, death,  and  burial.  The  lack  of  evidence  for 
these  need  not  prevent  us  from  acquiescing  in  the  general 
belief  of  the  early  Church  that  it  was  at  Rome  Peter 
suffered  the  death  by  martyrdom  which  had  been  predicted 
by  his  Lord.  This  is  contradicted  by  no  other  ancient 
tradition  of  the  Church,  and  we  have  some  confirmation  of 
it  in  this  epistle  (see  pp.  235-7). 

In  illustration  of  the  remark  already  made  as  to  the 
harmony  of  this  epistle  with  Peter's  experience  and 
character,  we  may  note  the  following  points.  (i)  The 
writer  claims  to  have  been  "  a  witness  of  the  sufferings  of 
Christ,"  and  retains  a  vivid  impression  of  them,  as  shown 
in  his  description  of  Christ's  patience,  and  the  frequency 
of  his  allusions  to  the  subject.**     (2)   He  gives  prominence 

1  Acts  i.  15-26  ;  ii.  1-42  ;  .\.  ;  xv.  6-11.  tion  during  the  latter  part  of  the  second 

2  Gal.  ii.  11-14:  "But  when  Cephas  century  placed  the  martyrdom  much 
came  to  .\ntioch,  I  resisted  him  to  the  later  than  the  time  of  Nero.  The  tradi- 
face,  because  he  stood  condemned.  For  tion  that  he  lived  for  a  long  time  in 
before  that  certain  came  from  James,  he  Rome  is  also  strong,  and  as  Dr  Harnack 
did  eat  with  the  Gentiles:  but  when  justly  says,  '  it  is  difficult  to  suppose  that 
they  came,  he  drew  back  and  separated  so  large  a  body  of  tradition  has  no 
himself,  fearing  them  that  were  of  the  foundation  in  fact.'  But  conclusive 
circumcision,"  &c.  reasons  show  that  he  cannot  have  been 

3  "  While  the  tradition  that  St.  Peter  in  Rome  long  before  the  Neronian  per- 
perished  in  Rome  is  strong  and  early,  secution  ;  and  therefore  a  long  residence 
the  tradition  about  the  date  of  his  death  there  is  impossible,  unless  he  lived  to 
is  not  so  clear.  The  earliest  authority  a  much  later  date." — Prof.  Ramsay, 
for  the  date  is  Origen,  who  places  his  ■*v.  i  :  "  The  elders  therefore  among 
martyrdom  under  Nero  before  that  of  you  I  e.xhort,  who  am  a  fellow-elder, 
Paul.  Tertullian  also  seems  in  one  and  a  witness  of  the  sufferings  of  Christ, 
passage  to  assign  it  to  the  time  of  who  am  also  a  partaker  of  the  glory  that 
Nero  ;  but  in  another  passage  he  men-  shall  be  revealed  "  ;  ii.  20-24  ■  "  I'O'' 
tions  the  tradition  of  the  Roman  Church  what  glory  is  it,  if,  when  ye  sin,  and  are 
that  Clement  was  ordained  by  St.  Peter.  buffeted  for  it,  ye  shall  take  it  patiently? 
The  latter  passage  is  the  strongest  evi-  but  if,  when  ye  do  well,  and  suffer  for 
dencewhich  we  possess  on  the  point,  and  it,  ye  shall  take  it  patiently,  this  is 
it  clearly  proves  that  the  Roman  tradi-  acceptable   with    God.      For  hereunto 


132 


New  Testameiit  and  Its  Writers. 


XXI. 


to  Christ's  resurrection,  and  represents  it  as  the  source  of 
a  new  and  Hving  hope/ — which  had  been  precisely  Peter's 
experience.  (3)  He  dwells  upon  the  pastoral  aspect  of 
Christ's  ministry  as  if  under  an  abiding  sense  of  the 
responsibility  laid  upon  him  by  his  Master's  threefold 
charge  to  act  the  part  of  a  shepherd  to  his  flock.^  (4)  He 
enlarges  on  the  idea  embodied  in  Peter's  name,  representing 
the  Church  as  "  a  spiritual  house "  composed  of  living 
stones,  with  Christ  Himself  as  the  chief  corner-stone — an 
idea  to  which  Peter  had  given  expression  in  his  address  to 
the  Sanhedrim,  after  the  example  of  his  Lord — both  quoting 
from  the  Old  Testament.^  (5)  His  injunction  to  his 
readers,  "  all  of  you  gird  yourselves  with  humility  "  (liter- 


were  ye  called  :  because  Christ  also 
suffered  for  you,  leaving  you  an  example, 
that  ye  should  follow  his  steps  :  who  did 
no  sin,  neither  was  guile  found  in  his 
mouth  :  who,  when  he  was  rexiled,  re- 
viled not  again  ;  when  he  suffered, 
threatened  not ;  but  committed  himself 
to  him  that  judgeth  righteously  :  who 
his  own  self  bare  our  sins  in  his  body 
upon  the  tree,  that  we,  having  died  unto 
sins,  might  live  unto  righteousness  ;  by 
whose  stripes  ye  were  healed." 

1  i.  3,  4,  21  :  "  Blessed  be  the  God  and 
Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who 
according  to  his  great  mercy  begat  us 
again  unto  a  living  hope  by  the  resur- 
rection of  Jesus  Christ  from  the  dead, 
unto  an  inheritance  incorruptible,  and 
undefiled,  and  that  fadeth  not  away, 
reserved  in  heaven  for  you,  .  .  .  who 
through  him  are  believers  in  God, 
which  raised  him  from  the  dead,  and 
gave  him  glory  ;  so  that  your  faith  and 
hope  might  be  in  God  "  ;  iii.  21,  22  : 
' '  Which  also  after  a  true  likeness  doth 
now  save  you,  even  baptism,  not  the 
putting  away  of  the  1:1th  of  the  flesh, 
but  the  interrogation  of  a  good  con- 
science toward  God,  through  the  re- 
surrection of  Jesus  Christ  ;  who  is  on 
the  right  hand  of  God,  having  gone  into 
heaven  ;  angels  and  authorities  and 
powers  being  made  subject  unto  him." 

"\\.  25:  "  For  ye  were  going  astray 
like  sheep  ;  but  are  now  returned  unto  the 
Shepherd  and  Bishop  of  your  souls  "  ; 
v.  2-4  :  "  Tend  the  flock  of  God  which 
is  among  you.  exercising  the  oversight, 


not  of  constraint,  but  willingly,  accord- 
ing unto  God  ;  nor  yet  for  filthy  lucre, 
but  of  a  ready  mind  ;  neither  as  lording 
it  over  the  charge  allotted  to  you,  but 
making  yourselves  ensamples  to  the 
flock.  And  when  the  chief  Shepherd 
shall  be  manifested,  ye  shall  receive  the 
crown  of  glory  that  fadeth  not  away." 
John  xxi.  15-17  :  "  Feed  my  lambs. 
.  .  .  Tend  my  sheep.  .  .  .  Feed  my 
sheep." 

^ii.  4-8:  "a  living  stone,  rejected 
indeed  of  men,  but  with  God  elect, 
precious,  ye  also,  as  living  stones,  are 
built  up  a  spiritual  house,  to  be  a  holy 
priesthood,  to  offer  up  spiritual  sacri- 
fices, acceptable  to  God  through  Jesus 
Christ.  Because  it  is  contained  in 
scripture,  Behold,  I  lay  in  Zion  a  chief 
corner  stone,  elect,  precious :  And  he 
that  believeth  on  him  shall  not  be  put 
to  shame.  For  you  therefore  which 
believe  is  the  preciousness  :  but  for  such 
as  disbelieve.  The  stone  which  the 
builders  rejected.  The  same  was  made 
the  head  of  the  corner  ;  and,  A  stone 
of  stumbling,  and  a  rock  of  offence  ;  for 
they  stumble  at  the  word,  being  dis- 
obedient :  whereunto  also  they  were 
appointed";  Acts  iv.  11:  "He  is  the 
stone  which  was  set  at  nought  of  you 
the  builders,  which  was  made  the  head 
of  the  corner";  Matt.  xxi.  42  :  "Jesus 
saith  unto  them.  Did  ye  never  read  in  the 
scriptures.  The  stone  which  the  builders 
rejected.  The  same  was  made  the  head 
of  the  corner  :  This  was  from  the  Lord, 
And  it  is  marvellous  in  our  eyes  ?  " 


XXI,  I  Peter.  233 

ally,  "put  on  humility  like  a  slave's  apron,"^)  sounds  like 
a  reminiscence  of  the  Saviour's  action  which  so  astonished 
Peter  when  "  he  took  a  towel,  and  girded  himself  "  in  order 
to  wash  His  disciples'  feet,  saying,  when  He  had  finished, 
"  I  have  given  you  an  example,  that  ye  also  should  do  as 
I  have  done  to  you."-  (6)  His  language  in  the  epistle, 
"  And  if  ye  call  on  him  as  Father,  who  without  respect  of 
persons  judgeth  according  to  each  man's  work,  pass  the 
time  of  your  sojourning  in  fear,"  bears  a  strong  resem- 
blance to  Peter's  words  at  Cffisarea,  "  Of  a  truth  I  perceive 
that  God  is  no  respecter  of  persons  :  but  in  every  nation  he 
that  feareth  him,  and  worketh  righteousness,  is  acceptable  to 
him."^  (7)  In  his  exhortation  to  his  readers  to  "be  subject 
to  every  ordinance  of  man  for  the  Lord's  sake,"  we  have  pro- 
bably the  reproduction  of  the  lesson  taught  to  Peter  by  his 
Lord  with  regard  to  the  payment  of  the  tribute  money.* 

In  the  last-mentioned  passage,  as  in  many  others,  we 
can  discern  traces  of  the  same  graphic  and  pictorial  style 
as  we  have  seen  to  be  characteristic  of  the  Gospel  of  Mark, 
which  there  is  reason  to  believe  is  largely  a  record  of  Peter's 
preaching.  Such  are  the  expressions,  "  not  using  your  free- 
dom for  a  cloke  of  wickedness,"  the  word  translated  "  cloke  " 
being  peculiar  to  Peter  (only  used  here),  and  meaning  a 
veil  ox  covering ;^  "ye  should  put  to  silence  the  ignorance 
of  foolish  men,"  the  word  rendered  ''put  to  silence  "  mean- 
ing, in  a  literal  sense,  to  muzzle  (as  a  dog),  and  being  only 

1  V.  s  :    Tr\v    Taweivorppoavvrip  iyKo/j.-       came  to  Peter,  and  said,  Doth  not  your 
Buiaaa-de.  master  pay  the  half-shekel  ?     He  saith, 

2  Tohn'xiii.  2-17.  ^^^-  '^"'^1  when  he  came  into  the  house, 
3i  17  •  -Xc'ts  X  ^4  3^  Jesus  spake  first  to  him,  saying.  What 
4ii.  13-16:   "Be  subject  to  every  or-        thinkest  thou,  Simon?  the  kings  of  the 

dinance  of  man  for  the  Lord's  sake :  earth,  from  whom  do  they  receive  toll 
whether  it  be  to  the  king,  as  supreme;  or  tribute?  from  their  sons  or  from 
or  unto  governors,  as  sent  by  him  for  strangers  ?  And  when  he  said,  1;  rom 
vengeance  on  evil-doers  and  for  praise  strangers,  Jesus  said  unto  him  1  here- 
to them  that  do  well.  For  so  is  the  will  fore  the  sons  are  free.  But,  lest  we 
of  God,  that  bv  well-doing  ye  should  cause  them  to  stumble,  go  thou  to  the 
put  to  silence  the  ignorance  of  foolish  sea,  and  cast  a  hook,  and  take  up  the 
men :  as  free,  and  not  using  your  freedom  fish  that  first  cometh  up  ;  anil  when  thou 
for  a  cloke  of  wickedness,  but  as  bond-  hast  opened  his  mouth  thou  shalt  find 
servants  of  God  "  ;  Matt.  xvii.  24-27  :  ^  shekel :  that  take,  and  give  unto  them 
"  And  when  they  were  come  to  Caper-  for  me  and  thee, 
naum,  they  that  received  the  half-shekel  •"'  "•  i6—€TrLKa\vfj.fia. 


2  34  New  Testament  and  Its  Writers.  xxi. 

applied  elsewhere  in  the  New  Testament  to  the  subduing 
of  an  unclean  spirit,  and  the  stilling  of  the  raging  sea — both 
in  the  Gospel  of  Mark  ;  ^  "  leaving  you  an  example,  that  ye 
should  follow  his  steps,"  the  literal  meaning  of  the  word 
translated  "example''  being  the  copy-head  set  before  a 
scholar  for  his  patient  and  persevering  imitation;-  "your 
adversary  the  devil,  as  a  roaring  lion,  walketh  about,  seek- 
ing whom  he  may  devour."  ^  Akin  to  the  pictorial  style  of 
the  epistle  is  the  "  wealth  of  epithets  "  by  which  it  is  distin- 
guished, e.g.  "an  inheritance  incorruptible,  and  undefiled, 
and  that  fadeth  not  away.""^ 

It  appears  that  in  writing  this  epistle  Peter  had  the 
assistance  of  "  Silvanus,  our  faithful  brother,"'^  as  his  amanu- 
ensis, who  is,  no  doubt,  to  be  identified  with  the  "  Silas  " 
mentioned  in  the  Book  of  Acts,  and  the  Silvanus  of  St. 
Paul's  epistles.*" 

2.    The  Readers. 

"To  the  elect  who  are  sojourners  of  the  Dispersion  in 
Pontus,  Galatia,  Cappadocia,  Asia,  and  Bithynia."  The 
meaning  of  this  address  has  been  much  disputed.  By 
some  it  has  been  taken  in  a  literal  sense  as  denoting  the 
Christian  Jews  of  the  Dispersion  residing  in  the  various 
parts  of  Asia  Minor  that  are  here  specified.  But  this  is 
inconsistent  with  the  language  used  by  the  apostle  to  his 
readers,  which,  in  several  passages,"  would  lead  us  to  sup- 

^  ii.  15 — <pLfj.ovv  ;  Mark  i.  25 — cpifiw-        not  fashioning  yourselves  according  to 
6t]ti  ;  iv.  39 — Trecpi/xwcro.  your  former  lusts  in  the   time  of  your 


'  u.  21- 


-VTToypa/u.fJ.ov. 


ignorance";    ii.   9,    10:    "...  that 


3  V.  8-d,j  Xew^  dipv6^euos.  "i,^y  shew  forth  the  excellencies  of  hmi 

M.  4  ;  r/.  i.  7  :  "  praise  and  glory  and  '''^'°  ^^"'^'^  >;°^  °'^'  °\  darkness  mto  his 

honour"!  19:   "as  of  a  lamb  without  m'-^rvellous  light:    which  in  time    past 

blemish    and    without    spot";    li.    9:  were  no  people   but  now  are  the  people 

"But   ye   are   an    elect    race,    a   roval  of  God  :  which  had  not  obtained  mercy 

priesthood,  a  holy  nation,  a  people  for  ^ut    now   have   obtained    mercy     ;    ./ 

God's  own  possession,"  &c.  S°"^-  '^-..^5  (where  the  same  words  of 

«  V.   12  :    "  By  Silvanus,  our   faithful  ""^^^  ^'-  ^3]  are  applied  to  the  calling 

brother,    as    I    account    him,     I    have  of  the  Gen  lies   :"  As  he  sa.th  also  in 

written  unto  you  briefly,  exhorting,  and  "osea   I  will  call  that  my  people,  which 

testifying  that  this  is  the  true  grace  of  ''f^  "°'  ™>'  Pf  P'V      ?-       '"    ^     T"  ' 

God  f  stand  ye  fast  therein."  which  was  not  beloved     ;   ,..     6  :  "  as 

«  Acts  XV.  22,  32,  40  ;  I  Thess.  i.  i  ;  ^""'^^  obeyed   Abraham,    calling    h.m 

2  Thess.  i.  I  ;  2  Cor.  i.  19.  1°'"^  =  ^^^ose  children  ye  now  are   if  ye 

U.   14  :    "as  children  of  obedience,  d°  ^'^"'  ''^"^^  ''^'"*^  "°'  P"^  '"  f*^^""  ^^  ''^"^ 


XXI.  r  Peter.  235 

pose  that  the  readers  of  the  epistle  were  largely  Gentiles, 
as  we  know  the  members  of  the  Churches  in  Asia  Minor  for 
the  most  part  were.^ 

The  words  "  sojourners  of  the  Dispersion  "  are  probably 
to  be  interpreted  in  a  spiritual  sense  with  reference  to  the 
heavenly  Canaan,  from  which  Christ's  followers  on  earth 
may  be  regarded  as  temporary  exiles,  the  Churches  to 
which  they  belong  being  scattered  branches  of  a  common- 
wealth that  has  its  home  and  its  metropolis  in  heaven.^ 
This  interpretation  is  justified  by  the  whole  tone  of  the 
epistle,  which  gives  a  spiritual  meaning  to  the  blessings  of 
the  Old  Covenant.^  It  accords  in  particular  with  the 
words,  "  Beloved,  I  beseech  you  as  sojourners  and  pilgrims, 
to  abstain  from  fleshly  lusts,  which  war  against  the  soul." 

3.  Date  mid  Place  of  Composition. 

The  only  thing  we  have  to  guide  us  as  to  the  place  of 
writing  is  in  one  of  the  closing  salutations  :  "  She  that  is 
in  Babylon,  elect  together  with  you,  saluteth  you."  ^  By 
this  we  may  understand  the  Church  in  Rome,  which  city 
is  here  called  "  Babylon,"  as  the  new  seat  of  oppression 
and  cruelty  to  God's  people.'^  This  was  the  view  generally 
held   by  the   early  Church   Fathers ; "  it   is   in  accordance 

terror  "  ;  iv.  3  :  "  For  the  time  past  may  ■*  In  accordance  with  this  is  the  view 
suffice  to  have  wrought  the  desire  of  the  which  regards  Paul  as  the  apostle  of 
Gentiles,  and  to  have  walked  in  lasci-  Gentile  Christianity,  James  as  the 
viousness,  lusts,  wine-bibbings,  revell-  apostle  of  Jewish  Christianity,  Peter  as 
ings,  carousings,  and  abominable  idola-  holding  an  intermediate  position  he- 
tries."  tween  the  two,  and  John  as  the  apostle 

1  For     information     regarding     the  of  universal  Christianity. 

Church  in  Pontus  see  Acts  ii.  9,  xviii.  2  ;  -^  ii.  11. 

in  Galatia,  pp.  127  ff.  ;  in  Cappadocia,  •'  v.  13. 

Acts  ii.  9 ;  in  Asia,   Acts  xviii.  24-26,  6  Another     interpretation     identifies 

XX.    17-35,    •'^"d    the     epistles    to    the  "  She  that  is  in  Babylon "  with  Peter's 

Ephesians     and      Colossians.       These  wife  [cf.  i   Cor.   ix.   5 ;   Matt.  viii.  14)  ; 

Churches  had  received  the  Gospel  from  but  the  explanation  above  given  seems 

Paul   and   his   associates.     Hence    the  much  preferable. 

value   of    Peter's    testimony   in    v.    12  "  It  is  mentioned  by  Eusebius,  appar- 

(quoted  p.  234,  note  5).  ently  on  the  authority  of  Clement   of 

'^"The  First   Epistle  of  St.  Peter  is  .A.lexandria   and    Papias,    and    it   finds 

addressed  to  all  the  Christian  comnumi-  confirmation  in  the  general  belief  that 

ties  of  Asia  Minor  north  of  the  Taurus."  Peter   was   martyred   at    Rome,   which 

— Ramsay,  The  Church  in  the  Roman  seems    to   have   been    prevalent   before 

Empire.  the  close  of  the  second  century  (judging 


2';6 


New  Testament  and  Its  Writers. 


XXI. 


with  the  figurative  language  of  the  epistle,  referred  to  in 
the  previous  section  ;  and  it  accounts  for  the  strong  resem- 
blance between  this  epistle  and  that  of  Paul  to  the  Romans, 
with  which  Peter  could  scarcely  have  failed  to  become 
acquainted    during    his    residence    in    the    capital.^     It    is 

God ;  and  the  powers  that  be  are 
ordained  of  God.  Therefore  he  that 
resisteth  the  power,  withstandeth  the 
ordinance  of  God  :  and  they  that  with- 
stand shall  receive  to  themselves  judge- 
ment. For  rulers  are  not  a  terror  to 
the  good  work,  but  to  the  evil.  And 
wouldest  thou  have  no  fear  of  the  power? 
do  that  which  is  good,  and  thou  shall 
have  praise  from  the  same  :  for  he  is  a 
minister  of  God  to  thee  for  good.  But 
if  thou  do  that  which  is  evil,  be  afraid  ; 
for  he  beareth  not  the  sword  in  vain  : 
for  he  is  a  minister  of  God,  an  avenger 
for  wrath  to  him  that  doeth  evil."  iii.  9 : 
' '  not  rendering  evil  for  evil  "  ;  cf,  Rom. 
xii.  17:  "Render  to  no  man  evil  for 
evil."  iii.  22:  "who  is  on  the  right 
hand  of  God,  having  gone  into  heaven  ; 
angels  and  authorities  and  powers  being 
made  subject  unto  him  "  ;  cf.  Rom.  viii. 
34:  "Who  is  he  that  shall  condemn? 
It  is  Christ  Jesus  that  died,  yea  rather, 
that  was  raised  from  the  dead,  who  is 
at  the  right  hand  of  God,  who  also 
maketh  intercession  for  us."  iv.  3,  7 : 
"  For  the  time  past  may  suffice  to  have 
wrought  the  desire  of  the  Gentiles,  and 
to  have  walked  in  lasciviousness,  lusts, 
wine-bibbings,  revellings,  carousings, 
and  abominable  idolatries:  .  .  .  But  the 
end  of  all  things  is  at  hand  :  be  ye  there- 
fore of  sound  mind,  and  be  sober  unto 
prayer";  cf.  Rom.  xiii.  11-13:  "And 
this,  knowing  the  season,  that  now  it  is 
high  time  for  you  to  awake  out  of  sleep  : 
for  now  is  salvation  nearer  to  us  than 
when  we  first  believed.  The  night  is 
far  spent,  and  the  day  is  at  hand  :  let 
us  therefore  cast  off  the  works  of  dark- 
ness, and  let  us  put  on  the  armour  of 
light.  Let  us  walk  honestly,  as  in  the 
day  ;  not  in  revelling  and  drunkenness, 
not  in  chambering  and  wantonness,  not 
in  strife  and  jealousy."  iv.  9:  "using 
hospitality  one  to  another  without  mur- 
muring "  ;  cf.  Rom.  .\ii.  13:  "given  to 
hospitality."  iv.  10:  "according  as 
each  hath  received  a  gift,  ministering  it 
among  yourselves,  as  good  stewards  of 
the  manifold  grace  of  God"  ;  cf.  Rom. 
xii.  6:  "And  having  gifts  differing  ac- 
cording to  the  grace  that  was  given  to 
us,  whether  prophecy,  let  us  prophesy 


from  the  statements  of  Dionysius  of 
Corinth,  TertuUian,  and  Caius  of 
Rome). 

^  E.g.  i.  14,  15:  "as  children  of 
obedience,  not  fashioning  yourselves 
according  to  your  former  lusts  in  the 
time  of  your  ignorance  :  but  like  as  he 
which  called  you  is  holy,  be  ye  your- 
selves also  holy  in  all  manner  of 
living";  cf.  Rom.  xii.  2:  "And  be 
not  fashioned  according  to  this  world  : 
but  be  ye  transformed  by  the  renewing 
of  your  mind,  that  ye  may  prove  what  is 
the  good  and  acceptable  and  perfect  will 
of  God."  ii.  5:  "Ye  also,  as  living 
stones,  are  built  up  a  spiritual  house,  to 
be  a  holy  priesthood,  to  offer  up  spiritual 
sacrifices,  acceptable  to  God  through 
Jesus  Christ";  cf.  Rom.  xii.  i:  "I 
beseech  you  therefore,  brethren,  by  the 
mercies  of  God,  to  present  your  bodies 
a  living  sacrifice,  holy,  acceptable  to 
God,  which  is  your  reasonable  service." 
ii.  6-8  :  "  Because  it  is  contained  in 
scripture.  Behold,  I  lay  in  Zion  a  chief 
corner  stone,  elect,  precious:  And  he 
that  believeth  on  him  shall  not  be  put 
to  shame.  For  you  therefore  which  be- 
lieve is  the  preciousness  :  but  for  such 
as  disbelieve.  The  stone  which  the 
builders  rejected.  The  same  was  made 
the  head  of  the  corner  ;  and,  A  stone  of 
stumbling,  and  a  rock  of  offence  ;  for 
they  stumble  at  the  word,  being  dis- 
obedient :  whereunto  also  they  were 
appointed";  cf.  Rom.  ix.  32,  33: 
"Wherefore?  Because  they  sought  it 
not  by  faith,  but  as  it  were  by  works. 
They  stumbled  at  the  stone  of  stum- 
bling ;  even  as  it  is  written,  Behold,  I 
lay  in  Zion  a  stone  of  stumbling  and  a 
rock  of  offence  :  And  he  that  believeth 
on  him  shall  not  be  put  to  shame."  (In 
both  epistles  there  is  here  a  combination 
of  Isa.  viii.  14  and  xxviii.  16. )  ii.  10  ; 
cf.  Rom.  ix.  25  (see  p.  234,  7iote  7).  ii. 
13,  14  :  "Be  subject  to  every  ordinance 
of  man  for  the  Lord's  sake  :  whether  it 
be  to  the  king,  as  supreme  ;  or  unto 
governors,  as  sent  by  him  for  vengeance 
on  evil-doers  and  for  praise  to  them  that 
do  well";  cf.  Rom.  xiii.  1-4:  "Let 
every  soul  be  in  subjection  to  the  higher 
powers :   for  there  is  no  power  but  of 


XXI. 


I  Peter, 


237 


almost  certain  that  Babylon  has  this  meaning  in  the 
Revelation ;  and  it  would  add  to  the  force  of  Peter's 
exhortations  to  courage  and  patience,  that  he  was  himself, 
when  he  wrote,  in  the  very  thick  of  the  conflict.^ 

With  regard  to  the  date  of  its  composition,  the  proba- 
bility seems  to  be  that  the  letter  was  written  shortly  after 
the  outbreak  of  the  Neronian  persecution,  when  the 
Churches  in  the  provinces  were  beginning  to  experience 
the  effects  of  the  imperial  example  at  Rome  about 
64-5  A.D.^     The  readers  are  addressed  as  liable  to  perse- 


according  to  the  proportion  of  our  faith. " 
A  resemblance  can  also  be  traced  be- 
tween this  epistle  and  Ephesians,  as 
will  be  seen  from  a  comparison  of  the 
following  passages: — i.i.&c:  "  Peter,  an 
apostle  of  Jesus  Christ,  to  the  elect  who 
are  sojourners  of  the  Dispersion  in  Pon- 
tus,  Galatia ,  Cappadocia,  Asia,  and  Bith- 
ynia,"  c&c.  ;  cf.  Eph.  i.  3,  &c.  :  "  Blessed 
be  the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  who  hath  blessed  us  with 
every  spiritual  blessing  in  the  heavenly 
places  in  Christ,"  &c.  i.  14  :  "  as  child- 
ren of  obedience,  not  fashioning  your- 
selves according  to  your  former  lusts  in 
the  time  of  your  ignorance";  cf.  Eph. 
ii.  3  :  "  among  whom  we  also  all  once 
lived  in  the  lusts  of  our  flesh,  doing  the 
desires  of  the  flesh  and  of  the  mind,  and 
were  by  nature  children  of  wrath,  even 
as  the  rest."  i.  20:  "who  was  fore- 
known indeed  before  the  foundation  of 
the  world";  cf.  Eph.  i.  4 :  "even  as 
he  chose  us  in  him  before  the  foundation 
of  the  world,  that  we  should  be  holy  and 
without  blemish  before  him  in  love." 
ii.  18:  "Servants,  be  in  subjection  to 
your  masters  with  all  fear";  cf.  Eph. 
vi.  5  :  "  Servants,  be  obedient  unto  them 
that  according  to  the  flesh  are  your 
masters,  with  fear  and  trembling."  iii. 
i:  ''In  like  manner,  ye  wives,  be  in 
subjection  to  your  own  husbands"; 
cf.  Eph.  V.  22:  "Wives,  be  in  sub- 
jection unto  your  own  husbands,  as 
imto  the  Lord."  iii.  4:  "the  hidden 
man  of  the  heart";  cf.  Eph.  iii.  16: 
"the  inward  man."  iii.  ig,  20:  "In 
which  also  he  went  and  preached  unto 
the  spirits  in  prison,  which  aforetime 
were  disobedient";  cf.  Eph.  iv.  9: 
"Now  this,  He  ascended,  what  is  it 
but  that  he  also  descended  into  the 
lower  parts  of  the  earth."  iii.  21,  22: 
"through     the    resurrection    of    Jesus 


Christ ;  who  is  on  the  right  hand  of 
God,  having  gone  into  heaven  ;  angels 
and  authorities  and  powers  being  made 
subject  unto  him  "  ;  cf.  Eph.  i.  20,  21  : 
"which  he  wrought  in  Christ,  when  he 
raised  him  from  the  dead,  and  made  him 
to  sit  at  his  right  hand  in  the  heavenly 
places,  far  above  all  rule,  and  authority, 
and  power,  and  dominion,  and  every 
name  that  is  named,  not  only  in  this 
world,  but  also  in  that  which  is  to 
come."  v.  5:  "Likewise,  ye  younger, 
be  subject  unto  the  elder.  Yea,  all  of 
you  gird  yourselves  with  humility,  to 
serve  one  another";  cf.  Eph.  v.  21: 
"subjecting  yourselves  one  to  another 
in  the  fear  of  Christ." 

For  resemblances  to  the  Epistle  of 
James,  see  p.  225,  tiote  3.  These  go  far 
to  prove  that  the  author  of  this  epistle 
made  use  of  that  work,  addressed  to 
Jewish  Christians  by  the  recognised 
head  of  the  Church  at  Jerusalem  ;  and, 
as  Salmon  points  out  [Introduction,  p. 
489),  this  is  a  circumstance  at  variance 
with  the  Tiibingen  theory  that  i  Peter 
is  the  work  of  a  Paulinist  of  the  second 
century,  who  wished  to  arrogate  the 
authority  of  Peter's  name  for  his  anti- 
Jewish  views. 

1  ' '  That  this  epistle  was  written  from 
Rome,  I  cannot  doubt.  It  is  impreg- 
nated with  Roman  thought  to  a  degree 
beyond  any  other  book  in  the  Bible  ; 
the  relation  to  the  state  and  its  officers 
forms  an  unusually  large  part  of  the 
whole.  .  .  .  That  Babylon  should  be 
understood  as  the  Chaldasan  city  appears 
to  conflict  so  entirely  with  all  record 
and  early  tradition,  as  to  hardly  need 
discussion. "^ — Prof.  Ramsay. 

■■^"When  Nero  had  once  established 
the  principle  in  Rome,  his  action  served 
as  a  precedent  in  every  province.  .  .  . 
After  64  A.D.  the  example  set  by  the 


2^8 


N'eza  Testament  and  Its  Writers. 


XXT. 


cution,  both  of  a  social  and  a  legal  character,  the  very- 
name  of  Christian  having  become  a  term  of  reproach, 
and  still  worse  evils  being  imminent.  Indeed,  the  signs  of 
persecution  are  so  pronounced  in  this  epistle,  that  it  has, 
on  this  account,  been  assigned  by  many  to  a  later  date.^ 


4.    Character  and  Contents. 

This  epistle  breathes  the  spirit  of  practical  earnestness  so 
characteristic  of  its  author.  The  Greek  word  "  to  do  good  "^ 
occurs  no  less  than  nine  times  in  the  course  of  the  five  chap- 
ters. There  is  no  want  of  allusion  to  Christian  privilege  and 
Christian  doctrine  ;  but  it  is  always  for  a  practical  purpose, 
as  furnishing  motives  for  Christian  obedience.  Of  this 
we  have  an  illustration  in  the  frequent  use  of  the  words 
"wherefore,"  "therefore,"  "because,"  &c.,  by  way  of  en- 
forcing practical  applications.^  The  chief  duty  which  the 
writer  wishes  to  inculcate  is  that  of  patience  under  trial. ^ 


Emperor  necessarily  guided  the  action 
of  all  Roman  officials  toward  the  Christ- 
ians."— Prof.  Ramsay. 

1  See  Note  A  at  the  end  of  this 
chapter,  ii.  18-20:  "Servants,  be  in 
subjection  to  your  masters  with  all  fear ; 
not  only  to  the  good  and  gentle,  but  also 
to  the  froward.  For  this  is  acceptable, 
if  for  conscience  toward  God  a  man 
endureth  griefs,  suft'ering  wrongfully. 
For  what  glory  is  it,  if,  when  ye  sin,  and 
are  buffeted  for  it,  ye  shall  take  it 
patiently?  but  if,  when  ye  do  well,  and 
suffer  for  it,  ye  shall  take  it  patiently, 
this  is  acceptable  with  God  "  ;  iii.  13-17: 
"And  who  is  he  that  will  harm  you,  if 
ye  be  zealous  of  that  which  is  good  ? 
But  and  if  ye  should  suffer  for  righteous- 
ness' sake,  blessed  are  ye  :  and  fear  not 
their  fear,  neither  be  troubled  ;  but 
sanctify  in  your  hearts  Christ  as  Lord  : 
being  ready  always  to  give  answer  to 
every  man  that  asketh  you  a  reason 
concerning  the  hope  that  is  in  you,  yet 
with  meekness  and  fear  :  having  a  good 
conscience  ;  that,  wherein  ye  are  spoken 
against,  they  may  be  put  to  shame  who 
revile  your  good  manner  of  life  in  Christ. 
For  it  is  better,  if  the  will  of  God  should 
so  will,  that  ye  suffer  for  well-doing  than 
for  evil-doing";  iv.  12-17:  "Beloved, 
think  it  not  strange  concerning  the  fiery 


trial  among  you,  which  cometh  upon 
you  to  prove  you,  as  though  a  strange 
thing  happened  unto  you  :  but  insomuch 
as  ye  are  partakers  of  Christ's  sufferings, 
rejoice  ;  that  at  the  revelation  of  his 
glory  also  ye  may  rejoice  with  exceed- 
ing joy.  If  ye  are  reproached  for  the 
name  of  Christ,  blessed  are  ye  ;  because 
the  Spirit  of  glory  and  the  Spirit  of  God 
resteth  upon  you.  For  let  none  of  you 
suffer  as  a  murderer,  or  a  thief,  or  an 
evil-doer,  or  as  a  meddler  in  other  men's 
matters  :  but  if  a  man  suffer  as  a  Christ- 
ian, let  him  not  be  ashamed  ;  but  let 
him  glorify  God  in  this  name.  For  the 
time  is  come  for  judgement  to  begin  at 
the  house  of  God  :  and  if  it  begin  first 
at  us,  what  shall  be  the  end  of  them  that 
obey  not  the  gospel  of  God  ?  " 

^  5id,  ol'v,  dioTi,  Sec.  i.  13:  "Where- 
fore girding  up  the  loins  of  your  mind, 
be  sober  and  set  your  hope  perfectly  on 
the  grace  that  is  to  be  brought  unto  you 
at  the  revelation  of  Jesus  Christ  "  ;  i.  16  : 
"  because  it  is  written,  Ye  shall  be  holy  ; 
for  I  am  holy  "  ;  ii.  i  :  "  Putting  away 
therefore  all  wickedness,"  &c. 

•*  i.  6,  7  :  "  Wherein  ye  greatly  rejoice, 
though  now  for  a  little  while,  if  need  be, 
ye  have  been  put  to  grief  in  manifold 
temptations,  that  theproof  of  your  faith. 


XX  r.  1  Peter.  239 

In  many  cases  this  suffering  arose  from  persecution — 
proceeding  from  suspicion  and  ill-will  on  the  part  of  the 
non-Christian  members  of  the  community.  For  the  endur- 
ance of  all  such  unmerited  sufferings  the  apostle  points 
them  to  the  example  of  the  Saviour  (whose  sufferings  are 
referred  to  in  every  chapter),  at  the  same  time  bidding 
them  take  care  that  they  do  not  bring  trouble  on  themselves 
by  their  unworthy  conduct.  Their  trials,  he  reminds  them, 
are  only  for  a  time,^  and  will  receive  abundant  compensation 
at  the  revelation  of  Christ's  glory.^  "  The  sufferings  of 
Christ,  and  the  glories  that  should  follow  them,"  are  indeed 
the  two  poles  around  which  the  whole  argument  of  the 
epistle  turns,  resulting  in  a  beautiful  blending  of  patience 
and  hope.  Hence  Peter  has  been  styled  "the  apostle  of 
hope."^ 

Along  with  the  calls  to  patience  there  are  mingled  various 
other  admonitions  addressed  to  citizens,  servants,  wives, 
/msbands,  elders  of  the  Church,  and  the  congregation  gener- 
ally, with  reference  to  various  duties.*  It  is  worthy  of 
note,  that  although  this  epistle  has  so  little  of  a  speculative 
character,  it  has  been  the  means  of  revealing  two  interesting 
truths,  which  would  not  have  been  otherwise  known  to  us.^ 

being   more    precious   than    gold    that  Christ,  after  that  ye  have  suffered  a  little 

perisheth  though  it    is    proved  by  fire,  while,    shall    himself  perfect,    stablish, 

might  be  found  unto  praise  and  glory  strengthen  you." 

and  honour  at  the  revelation  of  Jesus  "\.  j  :   "that  the  proof  of  your  faith 

Christ";  ii.  19-21  :   "  For  this  is  accept-  being   more    precious   than    gold   that 

able,   if  for   conscience   toward  God  a  perisheth  though  it  is  proved  by  fire, 

man  endureth  griefs,   suffering  wrong-  might  be  found  unto  praise  and  glory 

fully.     For  what  glory  is  it,  if,  when  ye  and  honour  at  the  revelation  of  Jesus 

sin,  and  are  buffeted  for  it,  ye  shall  take  Christ  "  ;  iv.  13,  14  (quoted  p.  238,  note 

it  patiently?  but  if,  when   ye   do  well,  i);  v.  10:  (quoted  above,  note  \). 

and  suffer  for  it,  ye  shall  take  it  patiently,  3  As  compared  with  John  the  apostle 

this  is  acceptable  with  God.     For  here-  of  love,  Paul  the  apostle  of  faith,  and 

unto  were  ye  called:    because   Christ  James  the  apostle  of  works, 

also  suffered  for  you,  leaving  you  an  ex-  •*ii.   13-17,   18-20;  iii.  1-6,   i;  v.   1-4, 

ample,  that  ye  should  follow  hissteps"  ;  S-n. 

iii.  13-18  (p.  238,  note  i)  ;  iv.   12-19  (P-  ^ '•  12  :  "  To  whom  it  was  revealed, 

238,  note  i).  that  not  unto  themselves,  but  unto  you, 

li.  6:    "Wherein  ye  greatly  rejoice,  did  they  minister  these  things,   which 

though  now  for  a  little  while,  if  need  be,  now   have    been   announced   unto   you 

ye  have  been  put  to  grief  in  manifold  through  them  that  preached  the  gospel 

temptations"  ;  iv.  7  :   "  But  the  end  of  unto  you  by  the  Holy  Ghost  sent  forth 

all  things  is  at  hand  :  be  ye  therefore  of  from  heaven  ;  rvhich  things  angels  desire 

sound  mind,  and  be  sober  unto  prayer  "  ;  to  look  itito"  ;  iii.   18-20:   "...  quick- 

V.  10:   "  And  the  God  of  all  grace,  who  ened   in   the   spirit;    in    which  also  he 

called   you  unto   his   eternal    glory   in  went   and    preached    unto    the    spirits 


240  New  Testament  and  Its  Writers.  xxi. 

It  may  also  be  said  to  contain  a  practical  refutation  of  the 
Romish  theory  as  to  Peter's  jurisdiction  in  the  Church. 
So  far  from  making  any  claim  to  authority  or  pre-eminence, 
the  writer  expressly  puts  himself  on  a  level  with  the  other 
presbyters,  and  deprecates  anything  like  a  spirit  of  lordship 
in  the  exercise  of  their  ministry.^  The  names  "  priest," 
"  bishop,"  "  Church,"  are  never  even  mentioned  by  him.2 


in   prison,    which    aforetime  were  dis-  filthy  lucre,  but  of  a  ready  mind  ;  neither 

obedient.   .  .   ."  as  lording  it  over  the  charge  allotted  to 

^v.  1-3:  "  The  elders  therefore  among  you,  but  making  yourselves  ensamples 

you  I  exhort,  who  am   a  fellow-elder,  to  the  flock. " 

and  a  witness  of  the  sufferings  of  Christ,  -  Except  "  Bishop  "  in  ii.  25,  where  it 

who  am  also  a  partaker  of  the  glory  that  is  Christ  Himself  who  is  so  designated, 

shall   be   revealed:  Tend   the  flock   of  This  fact  would  be  the  more  significant, 

God  which  is  among  you,  exercising  the  if  we  accepted  Prof.  Ramsay's  view  that 

oversight,  not  of  constraint,  but  willing-  the   epistle   was  not  written  till  about 

ly,  according  unto   God;    nor  yet   for  80  A. d. 


Note  on  Date  of  i  Peter. 

The  opinion  held  by  many  German  critics  that  the  persecution  of 
Christians  on  account  of  their  rehgion,  of  which  we  have  tokens  in  this 
epistle  (iv.  15,  16,  quoted  p.  23S),  did  not  exist  before  the  issue  of 
Trajan's  famous  rescript  to  PHny  (112  A.D.),  and  that  the  epistle  must 
therefore  be  a  forgery  of  the  second  century,  may  be  regarded  as  no 
longer  tenable.  It  is  now  generally  acknowledged  that  the  effect  of 
that  rescript  was  not  to  initiate  a  new  procedure,  but  rather  to  moder- 
ate the  zeal  of  provincial  authorities,  and  discourage  them  from  seek- 
ing out  Christians  or  taking  action  against  them  unless  the  charge  was 
brought  forward  by  a  responsible  accuser.  That  the  persecution  of 
Christians  as  such  was  not  unknown  in  Nero's  reign  after  the  burning 
of  Rome  (64  A.D.),  may  be  inferred  from  the  statements  of  several 
Roman  historians.  Thus  Tacitus  says  (Annals  xv.  44)  :  Igitur ;primum 
correpti  qui  fatebantiir,  dcinde  indicio  eoruni  imiltitudo  ingens,  hand 
perinde  in  crimine  ificeftdii  quam  odio  htnnani generis  conjiincti  stirit. 
"  Accordingly  those  were  first  seized  who  confessed  they  were  Christ- 
ians, then,  on  their  information,  a  vast  multitude  were  similarly  dealt 
with,  not  so  much  on  the  charge  of  incendiarism,  as  of  hatred  to  the 
human  race  (society)."  This  view  is  confirmed  by  Suetonius  (Nero, 
16)  :  Afflicti  siippliciis  Christiani,  gefttis  homitium  supcrstitionis  novcc 


XXI.  I  Peter.  241 

ac  malejicce.  "  The  Christians  were  visited  with  punishment,  a  class 
of  people  addicted  to  a  new  and  pernicious  superstition." 

The  language  of  Sulpicius  Severus  (who  is,  however,  a  much  later 
and  inferior  authority)  gives  a  similar  impression.  Referring  to  the 
persecution  by  Nero,  he  says  (Chron.  ii.  29)  :  Hoc  initio  in  Christianas 
scEviri  coiptuni,  post  etiain  datis  legibus  religio  vetabatur^  palamque 
edictis propositis  Christianum  esse  non  licebat.  "This  was  the  begin- 
ning of  severe  measures  against  the  Christians.  Afterwards  the  religion 
was  forbidden  by  formal  laws,  and  the  profession  of  Christianity  was 
made  illegal  by  published  edicts." 

Professor  Mommsen,  who  may  be  regarded  as  the  highest  authority 
on  the  subject,  in  a  recent  article  in  the  Expositor  (July  1893),  states 
that  "  it  is  probable  that  the  separation  of  Jews  and  Christians  by  the 
general  public  and  the  rise  of  animosity  against  the  latter  took  place 
under  the  second  dynasty,  as  Nero's  measures  show  it  fully  developed. 
The  double  foundation  on  which  the  persecution  rested,  the  general 
contempt  of  the  Roman  gods  and  the  belief  in  special  crimes  of 
lewdness  and  other  misdemeanours  attributed  to  their  conventicles, 
the  novien  Christiani  and  the  flagitia  C/trisfianor7tni,  without  doubt 
sprang  up  together."  Again  :  "the  national  religion  was  the  founda- 
tion as  well  of  Latin  Rome  as  of  the  Roma  communis  oinnium  patria, 
the  spiritual  symbol  of  the  political  union.  Now  this  foundation  was 
sapped,  this  symbol  rejected  by  the  Christians,  and  by  the  Christians 
first  and  alone.  The  severing  of  the  nationality  from  the  creed,  the 
basing  the  religion  on  humanity,  is  the  very  essence  of  the  Christian 
revolution.  .  .  .  The  Christian  'atheism,'  the  negation  of  the  national 
gods,  was,  as  I  have  shown  elsewhere,  the  contempt  of  the  dii  piiblici 
populi  Romaniy  in  itself  high  treason  ;  or,  as  the  Christians  express  it 
(thoughts  being  free  but  words  not),  the  mere  Christian  name,  the 
'testimony'  of  such  atheism,  constitutes  a  crime  in  the  eye  of  the 
law." 

Prof.  Ramsay  in  his  recent  work  {T/ie  Church  in  the  Roman  Empire) 
and  in  the  Expositor  for  July  and  August  1893,  argues  strongly  that 
the  absolute  proscription  of  "  the  Name"  and  the  treatment  of  Christ- 
ians as  outlaws,  did  not  take  place  till  the  time  of  the  Flavian 
dynasty,  probably  in  the  reign  of  Vespasian  (about  75  A.D.),  and  that 
this  epistle  cannot  have  been  written  much  earlier  than  80  a.d.  But 
the  external  evidence  which  Prof.  Ramsay  adduces,  however  ably  and 
skilfully  handled,  is  in  itself  very  meagre  and  precarious  ;  and  he  finds 
it  necessary  to  rest  his  case  chiefly  on  the  wide  difference  which  he 
traces  between  the  language  of  the  Pastoral  Epistles  and  that  of  this 
epistle  (and  still  more  of  the  Book  of  Revelation)  as  regards  the  per- 
secution to  which  the  Christians  were  exposed.  He  dwells  particu- 
larly on  the  representation  given  of  the  readers,  in  this  epistle,  as 
"  reproached  for  the  name  of  Christ,"  and  being  liable  to  "  suffer  as  a 

Q 


242  New  Tesia7itent  and  Its  PVr iters.  xxi. 

Christian,"  thus  having  it  in  their  power  to  "glorify  God  in  this 
name"  (iv.  14-16).  He  also  gives  a  judicial  sense  to  the  "answer" 
{an-oXoyiau)  which  they  are  to  be  ready  to  give  "  to  every  man  that 
asketh  (them)  a  reason  concerning  the  hope  that  is  in  (them)  (iii.  15). 
But  the  expression  "  to  every  man  "  would  seem  rather  to  refer  to  the 
intercourse  of  social  life ;  and  with  regard  to  suffering  for  "  the 
Name,"  we  can  imagine  that,  after  Christians  as  a  class  had  fallen 
under  general  suspicion  (as  they  did  in  the  reign  of  Nero — if  not  still 
earlier),  it  would  not  be  long  before  such  a  way  of  speaking  would 
come  into  use.  In  this  connection  we  may  quote  Prof  Ramsay's  own 
statement  (p.  241)  that  "the  persecution  of  Nero,  begun  for  the  sake 
of  diverting  popular  attention,  was  continued  as  a  permanent  police 
measure  under  the  form  of  a  general  prosecution  of  Christians  as  a 
sect  dangerous  to  the  public  safety." 

It  has  also  to  be  noted  that  the  writer  of  the  epistle  does  not  look 
upon  the  state  as  absolutely  hostile,  or  on  the  position  of  the  Christians 
in  the  world  as  altogether  hopeless.  He  speaks  of  "governors  as 
sent  by  (the  Lord)  for  vengeance  on  evil-doers  and  for  praise  to  them 
that  do  well"  (ii.  14)  ;  and  he  asks,  "And  who  is  he  that  will  harm.' 
you,  if  ye  be  zealous  of  that  which  is  good  "  (iii.  13).  As  Prof.  Ramsay 
says  (p.  282)  :  "  He  still  clings  to  the  idea  that  the  Christians  are 
persecuted  because  they  are  believed  to  be  guilty  of  great  crimes  ;  the 
old  charges  of  the  Neronian  time  are  still  in  his  memory,  and  he  hopes 
that,  if  the  absurdity  of  these  charges  be  fully  brought  home  to  the 
minds  of  men,  the  persecution  must  be  stopped."  And  again  (p.  348), 
"  Christians  suffered  by  being  convicted  as  criminals,  and  not  as 
Christians  ;  defence  lay  in  a  life  above  suspicion  (i  Peter  iv.  25)." 

It  is  quite  true  that  the  subject  of  persecution  is  much  less  promi- 
nent in  the  Pastoral  Epistles  (67-68  A.D.),  there  being  only  a  few  pas- 
sages in  which  it  is  mentioned  (see  i  Tim.  iv.  10 ;  vi.  i  ;  2  Tim.  i.  8  ; 
ii.  3,  9  ;  iii.  11,  12  ;  iv.  17,  18).  But  this  may  be  accounted  for  by  the 
reaction  which  (Tacitus  tells  us)  took  place  in  the  public  mind  after 
the  atrocities  perpetrated  on  the  Christians  by  Nero,  in  connection 
with  the  gi-eat  Fire  at  Rome  (64  A.D.).  Prof.  Ramsay  puts  this  strongly 
when  he  says  (p.  243),  "  The  persecution  began  in  64,  and  it  was  obvi- 
ously at  an  end  when  Nero  left  Rome  towards  the  end  of  66.  It  had 
been  continued  by  the  Emperor  after  the  people  had  become  sick  of 
it ;  and  when  his  personal  influence  was  withdrawn,  it  can  hardly  have 
continued." 

Referring  to  the  same  period,  Prof  Mommsen  says:  "The  huge 
proportions  and  the  cruel  features  which  this  repression  assumed  in 
the  worst  years  of  this  reign,  form  an  exception  to  the  general  prepon- 
derance of  toleration  or,  what  comes  to  the  same,  of  moderate  perse- 
cution, which  confirms  the  rule.  This  in  my  opinion  continued  under 
the  Flavian  dynasty." 


XXI.  I  Peter.  243 

The  subsidiary  arguments  which  Prof.  Ramsay  adduces  in  favour  of 
a  later  date  than  the  reign  of  Nero  {e.g.  the  symbolic  use  of  the  term 
"  Babylon  "  and  of  the  "  Dispersion,"  the  familiarity  of  the  writer  with 
James,  Romans,  and  Ephesia7is,  the  organisation  and  intercommunica- 
tion of  the  Church  in  all  parts  of  Asia  Minor)  have  a  certain  degree  of 
force,  but  are  scarcely  sufficient  to  outweigh  the  general  probability  in 
favour  of  the  earlier  date  that  is  usually  assigned  to  the  epistle.  Even 
if  Prof.  Ramsay's  view  be  accepted,  however,  it  is  quite  consistent  (as 
he  points  out)  with  the  Petrine  authorship.  (See  above,  p.  231, 
note  3.) 


CHAPTER   XXII. 

2    PETER — JUDE.l 
"THE   SECOND   EPISTLE   GENERAL   OF   PETER." 

I.  Author  skip. 

The  genuineness  of  this  epistle  has  been  more  questioned 
than  that  of  any  other  book  in  the  New  Testament.^  The 
external  evidence  for  it  is  comparatively  meagre.  We 
seem  to  hear  echoes  of  its  language  in  some  of  the  earliest 
post-apostolic  works,^  but  the  first  writer  to  make  express 
and  unmistakable  mention  of  it  is  Origen  (230  A.D,),  and 
in  one  passage  he  does  so  in  such  a  manner  as  to  show 
that  he  has  doubts  about  its  genuineness.^  A  century 
later  it  is  classed  by  Eusebius  among  the  disputed  books 
of  the  New  Testament.^ 

The  difficulty  of  accepting  it  as  a  genuine  writing  of 
Peter  has  chiefly  arisen  both  in  ancient  and  in  modern 
times  from  its  differing  so  greatly  in  tone  and  substance 

1  On  the  connection  between  these  Eusebius  that  Clement  of  Alexandria 
two  epistles,  see  pp.  253-4.  wrote  on  "  the  Epistle  of  Jude  and  the 

2  The  question  of  genuineness  really       remaining  Catholic  Epistles." 

carries  with  it  that  of  canonicity,  as  the  •*"  Peter   .    .    .    has   left   one   epistle 

Epistle   is   written   throughout    in    the  generally     accepted.       Grant     also     a 

name   and   with   the   authority  of  the  second,  for  it  is  a  matter  of  question" 

apostle  Peter,  and  would  cease  to  have  (d/x0i/3dXXeTai    yap).—Euseb.    vi.     25. 

any   title   to   reverence   if  it   could   be  5  " 'I'hat  which  is  in  circulation  as  the 

proved  to  be  a  forgery.     In  this  respect  second  of  Peter,  we   have   been   given 

it  stands  on  a  different  footing  from  the  to   understand   is   not   canonical :    (ovk 

Epistle  to  the  Hebrews.  iv5id6r]Kov),  nevertheless  as  it  appeared 

3  Clement,  Hernias,  and  Polycarp ;  ^^^^^^  ^^  ^  -^  ^^^^  ^een  diligently 
but  with  more  certamty  m  later  writers  studied  along  with  the  other  Scriptures  " 
ofthe  second  and  third  centuries— VIZ.,  (;;;_  ^_  Against  this  statement  of 
Melitoof  Sardis,TheophilusofAntioch  Eusebius,  we  may  put  the  fact  that  the 
Hippolytus  of  Portus,  Firmilian  of  gpigtie  is  contained  in  the  two  earliest 
C«.sareainCappadocia,andCIeme^^^^^^^^^  ^^^^  ^^^^^  ^^^^.^  ^^  ^^  (^ 

fafrhe^r;;^ffnTfi^cama^^^  and  B)  which  were  probably  written  in 

sent  so  many  different  parts  of  Chrisren-       Eusebius  own  lifetime, 
dom.     We  have  it  on  the  authority  of 


XXII. 


Peter 


245 


from  the  First  Epistle,  written,  as  we  have  seen,  near  the 
close  of  Peter's  life.^  There  is  scarcely  any  reference  in  it 
to  our  Saviour's  sufferings  or  resurrection,  which  figure  so 
largely  in  the  First  Epistle  ;  and  what  it  chiefly  inculcates 
is  knowledge  rather  than  hope. 

But,  apart  from  the  versatility  of  Peter's  mind,  this  differ- 
ence in  the  character  of  the  two  Epistles  may  to  a  large 
extent  be  accounted  for  by  the  different  circumstances 
under  which  they  were  written.  While  the  First  was  evi- 
dently designed  to  encourage  and  support  Christians  under 
persecution,  this  later  one  was  intended  to  warn  them 
against  false  teachers  who  were  spreading  corruption  in 
the  Church.  At  the  same  time  this  epistle,  like  the  First, 
is  eminently  practical,  insisting  on  the  necessity  of  Christian 
duty  for  the  perfecting  of  Christian  knowledge,  emphasising 
the  danger  of  knowledge  without  practice,  and  giving  a 
practical  turn  to  the  argument-  Moreover,  amid  the  general 
difference  of  style,^  a  close  examination  of  the  language 


1  Referring  to  the  twu  Epistles  of 
Peter,  Jerome  (De.  V.  I.  i. )  says: 
quarum  secunda  a  plerisque  ejus  esse 
negatur  propter  styli  cum  priore 
dissonantiam  ("the  second  of  which 
is  held  by  a  great  many  not  to  be  his, 
owing  to  the  want  of  harmony  between 
its  style  and  that  of  the  first").  Jerome 
thought  the  difference  might  be  ac- 
counted for  by  Peter's  having  had  the 
assistance  of  two  different  interpreters  ; 
and  similarly  Calvin  and  Erasmus  re- 
garded the  peculiarities  of  this  Epistle 
as  due  to  its  having  been  written,  not 
by  Peter  himself,  but  by  one  of  his 
disciples  under  his  directions. 

2  i.  5-1 1  :  "Yea,  and  for  this  very 
cause  adding  on  your  part  all  diligence, 
in  your  faith  supply  virtue  ;  and  in  your 
virtue  knowledge  ;  and  in  your  know- 
ledge temperance  ;  and  in  your  temper- 
ance patience ;  and  in  your  patience 
godliness  ;  and  in  your  godliness  love 
of  the  brethren  ;  and  in  your  love  of 
the  brethren  love.  For  if  these  things 
are  yours  and  abound,  they  make  you 
to  be  not  idle  nor  unfruitful  unto  the 
knowledge  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
For  he  that  lacketh  these  things  is 
blind,  seeing  only  what  is  near,  having 
forgotten  the  cleansing  from  his  old 
sins.     Wherefore,    brethren,     give    the 


more  diligence  to  make  your  calling 
and  election  sure  :  for  if  ye  do  these 
things,  ye  shall  never  stumble  :  for  thus 
shall  be  richly  supplied  unto  you  the 
entrance  into  the  eternal  kingdom  of 
our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ "  ; 
ii.  20,  21:  "For  if,  after  they  have 
escaped  the  defilements  of  the  world 
through  the  knowledge  of  the  Lord  and 
Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  they  are  again 
entangled  therein  and  overcome,  the 
last  state  is  become  worse  with  them 
than  the  first.  For  it  were  better  for 
them  not  to  have  known  the  way  of 
righteousness,  than,  after  knowing  it, 
to  turn  back  from  the  holy  command- 
ment delivered  unlo  them  "  ;  iii.  II,  14: 
"Seeing  that  these  things  are  thus  all 
to  be  dissolved,  what  manner  of  persons 
ought  ye  to  be  in  all  holy  living  and 
godliness,  . . .  Wherefore,  beloved,  seeing 
that  ye  look  for  these  things,  give  dili- 
gence that  ye  may  be  found  in  peace, 
without  spot  and  blameless  in  his 
sight." 

■'  Dr  Salmon  mentions  five  features 
in  which  this  epistle  differs  from  the 
First  :  (i)  Repetition  of  words  and 
phrases,  e.g.  "grant"  (5(xipeo/j.ai), 
i.  3,  4;  "destruction"  (ctTrwXeia),  ii.  i, 
3;  iii.  7,  16;    "right"  or  "righteous" 


246 


New  Testament  and  Its  Writers. 


XXII. 


and  thought  in  this  Epistle  brings  out  many  points  of 
resemblance  between  it  and  Peter  s  la^igtiage  elsewhere.  A 
likeness  to  the  First  Epistle  will  be  found  on  a  comparison 
of  the  undernoted  passages.^     It  may  also  be  seen  in  the 


(Sf/caios),  i.  13;  ii.  7,  8.  (2)  Rarity  of 
such  connecting  particles  as  IVa,  firt, 
o^v,  (lev,  (3)  A  different  formation  of 
subordinate  clauses,  by  the  use  of  the 
preposition  ev  and  a  substantive  {e.g. 
TTJs  iv  iwidvixlq.  <p6opds,  i.  4),  while 
there  is  a  common  use  of  (is  in  the 
First  Epistle  (i.  13,  19;  ii.  2,  &c. ), 
which  is  rare  in  the  Second.  (4)  Com- 
parative paucity  of  Old  Testament  quota- 
tions (thirty-one  in  i  Peter  but  only  five 
at  most  in  2  Peter),  which  may  be  par- 
alleled, however,  by  comparing  the 
Fourth  Gospel  (which  has  many  such 
quotations,  with  i  John  which  has 
none).  (5)  The  frequent  use  of  the 
words  "Saviour"  (crwTTjp),  "coming" 
{Trapovffia),  "knowledge"  (eTrLyvucris), 
which  do  not  occur  in  i  Peter,  but  are 
found  in  Paul's  writings.  Instead  of 
wapovuia.  we  find  airoKoKvypLS  ( ' '  revela- 
tion") in  the  First  Epistle  (i.  7,  13;  iv. 
13),  which  was  a  more  appropriate 
word  to  use  in  addressing  those  who 
were  waiting  for  Christ's  appearing. 

1  i.  2  :  "  Grace  to  you  and  peace  be 
multiplied  in  the  knowledge  of  God  and 
of  Jesus  our  Lord  "  ;  cf.  i  Peter  i.  2  : 
'  Grace  to  you  and  peace  be  multi- 
plied." i.  3  :  "  through  the  knowledge 
of  him  that  called  us  by  his  own  glory 
and  virtue";  rf.  i  Peter  v.  10  :  "And 
the  God  of  all  grace,  who  called  you 
unto  his  eternal  glory  in  Christ."  i.  7  : 
"and  in  your  godliness  love  of  the 
brethren ;  and  in  your  love  of  the 
brethren  love " ;  cf.  i  Peter  i.  22  : 
"Seeing  ye  have  purified  your  souls  in 
your  obedience  to  the  truth  unto  un- 
feigned love  of  the  brethren,  love  one 
another  from  the  heart  fervently  "  ;  and 
iii.  8:  "Finally,  be  ye  all  likeminded,  com- 
passionate, loving  as  brethren,  tender- 
hearted, humbleminded."  The  word 
(pi\ad€\(p[a  ("love  of  the  brethren") 
only  occurs  three  times  elsewhere  in  the 
New  Testament,  i.  19,  21  :  "And  we 
have  the  word  of  prophecy  made  more 
sure  ;  whereunto  ye  do  well  that  ye  take 
heed,  as  unto  a  lamp  shining  in  a  dark 
place,  until  the  day  dawn,  and  the  day- 
star  arise  in  your  hearts :  .  .  .  For  no 
prophecy  ever  came  by  the  will  of  man  : 
but  men  spake  from  God,  being  moved 


by  the  Holy  Ghost"  ;  cf.  1  Peter  i.  10- 
12:    "Concerning  which  salvation  the 
prophets  sought  and  searched  diligently, 
who  prophesied  of  the  grace  that  should 
come  unto  you  :  searching  what  time  or 
what    manner    of    time   the    Spirit   of 
Christ   which   was   in   them  did   point 
unto,  when  it  testified  beforehand  the 
sufferings  of  Christ,  and  the  glories  that 
should  follow  them.     To  whom  it  was 
revealed,  that  not  unto  themselves,  but 
unto    you,    did    they    minister     these 
things,  which  now  have  been  announced 
unto  you  through  them  that  preached 
the  gospel  unto  you  by  the  Holy  Ghost 
sent  forth  from  heaven  ;  which  things 
angels    desire    to    look    into."    ii.    i  : 
"  denying  even  the  Master  that  bought 
them  "  ;  cf.  i  Peter  i.  18,  19  :  "  knowing 
that  ye  were  redeemed,  not  with  cor- 
ruptible things,  with  silver  or  gold,  from 
your  vain  manner  of  life  handed  down 
from   your  fathers  ;  but  with  precious 
blood,   as  of  a   lamb  without    blemish 
and  without   spot,   even   the   blood   of 
Christ."     ii.  5:    "and  spared  not   the 
ancient  world,  but  preserved  Noah  with 
seven  others,   a  preacher  of  righteous- 
ness, when  he  brought  a  flood  upon  the 
world   of  the   ungodly";    iii.    6:    "by 
which  means  the  world  that  then  was, 
being  overflowed  with  water,  perished"  ; 
cf.  I  Peter  iii.  20 :  "  .  .  .  when  the  long- 
suffering  of  God  waited  in  the  days  of 
Noah,  while  the  ark  was  a  preparing, 
wherein  few,  that  is,  eight  souls,  were 
saved  through   water."     ii.    19:   "pro- 
mising them  liberty,  while  they  them- 
selves are  bondservants  of  corruption  ; 
for  of  whom  a  man  is  overcome,  of  the 
same  is  he  also  brought  into  bondage  "  ; 
cf.  I  Peter  ii.  16  :  "as  free,  and  not  using 
your  freedom  for  a  cloke  of  wickedness, 
but  as  bondservants  of  God."     iii.  14: 
"  without  spot  and  blameless  "  (ao-jriXoi 
/cat  afib)fj.7)Toi)  ;  cf.  1  Peter  i.  19  :  "with- 
out blemish  and  without  spot  "  {d/xdi/jiov 
Kal  dcnrlXov) ;  cf  2  Peter  ii.  13  {crirlXoi 
Kal  fMui/jLOi).    The  word  dTTo^etnj  ("put- 
ting off"  or  "away")  is  also  peculiar  to 
these  epistles  (i  Peter  iii.  21 ;  2  Peter  i, 
14) ;  so  is  eTTOTTTTjs  ("  eye-witness  ")  with 
its  verb  (i  Peter  ii.  12;  iii.  2  ;    2  Peter 
i.  16). 


XXII. 


Peter. 


247 


frequent  use  of  twofold  expressions,^  and  in  the  marked 
recurrence  in  both  epistles  of  the  word  "  holy."  ^  A 
number  of  verbal  coincidences  have  also  been  observed 
between  this  epistle  and  the  Gospel  of  Mark,  as  well  as 
Peter's  speeches  in  the  Book  of  Acts.  They  are  for  the 
most  part  such  as  can  only  be  fully  appreciated  by  a 
student  of  the  original.^ 

It  has  also  been  found  that  this  epistle,  like  the  First,  is 
distinguished  by  the  use  of  rare  words  of  a  striking  and 
pictorial  character,  after  the  manner  of  Peter,  but  not 
borrowed  from  the  First  :  e.g.  "  whose  sentence  now  from 
of  old  lingereth  not,  and  their  destruction  sluvibcretJi  not," 
"  turning  the  cities  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  into  ashes," 
"  enticing  unstedfast  souls  "  (the  word  translated  "  entice  " 
meaning  literally  to  take  zvith  a  bait,  being  such  a  word  as 
a  fisherman  would  naturally  use),  "  which  the  ignorant  and 
unstedfast  zurest,  as  they  do  also  the  other  scriptures  " — 
the  Greek  word  for  "wrest"  meaning  to  put  on  the  rack, 
like  a  criminal,  for  the  purpose  of  extorting  a  desired 
confession.* 

It  is  worthy  of  remark  as  a  note  of  genuineness  that 


1  E.g.  "  precious  and  exceeding 
great,"  "not  idle  nor  unfruitful,"  &c., 
i.  4,  8,  9,  19 ;  ii.  3,  10,  13,  &c. 

^  Hyios  applied  in  i  Peter  to  ''  priest- 
hood" (ii.  5);  "nation"  (ii.  9); 
"women"  (iii.  5);  and  in  2  Peter  to 
"mount"  (i.  18);  "commandment" 
(ii.  21);  "prophets"  (iii.  2);  "living" 
(iii.  11). 

3  The  following  are  peculiar  to  this 
epistleand  the  Gospel  of  Mark  :  Supeo/j-ai 
=  "  grant"  (i.  3  and  xv.  45);  ^aaavl^uj 
in  a  metaphorical  sense="vex,"  "dis- 
tress" (ii.  8  and  vi.  48);  \aTKa\p=^ 
"  storm  "  (ii.  17  and  iv.  37).  The  word 
T/3e/;ie:i'="  tremble,"  which  is  uncom- 
mon in  the  New  Testament,  occurs  in 
2  Peter  ii.  10  and  Mark  v.  33.  The  co- 
incidences with  Peter's  speeches,  or  with 
narratives  closely  related  to  him,  in  the 
Book  of  Acts  are  still  more  numerous  : 
e.g.  \ayx<iveiv  in  the  sense  of  "  obtain  " 
or  "receive"  is  found  in  2  Peter  (i.  i) 
and  Acts  (i.  17),  and  nowhere  else  in 
the  New  Testament.  So  with  XaXelv— 
"speak"    as    applied   to    God's   word 


(i.  21  and  iii.  21);  ei;o"e/3T?s= "  godly  " 
or  "devout"  (ii.  9  and  x.  2,  7); 
</)^e-y7e(r^ai  =  "  speak "  or  "utter" 
(ii.  16,  18  and  iv.  18) ;  fxicrdbs  (r^s) 
d5a-ias="  reward  of  (his)  iniquity"  or 
"hire  of  wrong-doing "  (ii.  13,  15  and 
Acts  i.  18);  KoXd^cLv  = "  io  punish" 
(ii.  9  and  iv.  21).  For  full  informa- 
tion on  this  and  other  aspects  of  the 
subject,  see  Dr  Lumby's  articles  in 
the  Expositor,  Vol.  IV.,  and  in  the 
Speaker's  Co?nmentary,  Vol.  IV.  ;  also 
Dr  Salmon's  Introdi/clion,  Chap,  xxv., 
where  Abbot's  theory  of  indebtedness 
on  the  part  of  this  epistle  to  Josephus 
is  refuted. 

•*  ii.  3  [ovK  dpye?,  ov  vvcrTcL^ei), 
6  {recppdaas),  14.  18  (SeXfaj'oi'Tes)  ; 
iii.  16  (crTp(j3\ov(nv)  ;  e/.  fxvonrd^wv, 
"seeing  only  what  is  near,"  literally, 
having  the  eyes  shut  (i.  9)  ;  (pcoa(p6poi, 
"  day-star,"  literally,  light-bearer  (i.  19) ; 
vXaaToh,  "  feigned,"  literally,  that  can 
be  moulded  (ii.  3);  poi^rjdot',  "with  a 
great  noise  "  (iii.  10). 


248 


New  Testament  and  Its  Writers. 


XXII. 


although  the  writer  was  evidently  acquainted  with  the 
First  Epistle/  he  does  not  copy  its  designation  of  the 
apostle,  as  a  forger  might  have  been  expected  to  do,  nor 
does  he  attach  the  same  address  to  the  epistle,-  nor 
conclude  with  the  same  doxology.^  Similarly,  when  he 
mentions  the  words  spoken  by  the  voice  from  heaven 
at  the  Transfiguration,  he  does  not  give  them  exactly 
as  they  are  reported  in  the  Gospels ;  and,  in  imme- 
diate connection  with  the  Transfiguration,  he  makes 
use  of  two  words,  namely  "  tabernacle "  and  "  decease," 
that  would  naturally  be  associated  in  Peter's  mind  with 
the  memory  of  that  great  incident.-*  In  his  use  of  the 
expression  in  the  same  passage,  "  even  as  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  signified  unto  me,"  we  may  trace  an  allusion  to  our 
Lord's  prophecy  of  Peter's  death  recorded  by  John;''  and 
in  the  recurrence  of  the  word  "  stablish,"  under  a  variety  of 
forms,  we  have  an  illustration  of  the  same  retrospective 
tendency,   which   may   be    discerned    also    in    the    First 


1  iii.  i:  "This  is  now,  beloved,  the 
second  epistle  that  I  write  unto  you ; 
and  in  both  of  them  I  stir  up  your 
sincere  mind  by  putting  you  in  re- 
membrance." 

2  i.  I :  "Simon  Peter,  a  servant  and 
apostle  of  Jesus  Christ,  to  them  that 
have  obtained  a  like  precious  faith  with 
us  in  the  righteousness  of  our  God  and 
Saviour  Jesus  Christ  "  ;  i  Peter  i.  i  : 
"  Peter,  an  apostle  of  Jesus  Christ,  to 
the  elect  who  are  sojourners  of  the  Dis- 
persion in  Pontus,  Galatia,  Cappadocia, 
Asia,  and  Bithynia." 

^  iii.  i8  :  "To  him  be  the  glory  both 
now  and  for  ever  "  ;  cf.T.  Peter  v.  1 1  : 
"  To  him  be  the  dominion  for  ever  and 
ever." 

^  (TKrjvd/jiaTOi  ;  ^^o5ov.  i.  14-18  : 
"knowing  that  the  putting  off  of  my 
taber7iacle  cometh  swiftly,  even  as  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  signified  unto  me. 
Yea,  I  will  give  diligence  that  at  every 
time  ye  may  be  able  after  my  decease 
to  call  these  things  to  remembrance. 
For  we  did  not  follow  cunningly  devised 
fables,  when  we  made  known  unto  you 
the  power  and  coming  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  but  we  were  eye-witnesses  of  his 
majesty.  For  he  received  from  God 
the  Father  honour  and  glory,  when 
there  came  such  a  voice  to  him  from 


the  excellent  glory.  This  is  my  beloved 
Son,  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased  :  and 
this  voice  we  ourselves  heard  come  out 
of  heaven,  when  we  were  with  him  in 
the  holy  mount  "  ;  cf.  Luke  ix.  30-35  : 
"And  behold,  there  talked  with  him 
two  men,  which  were  Moses  and 
Elijah ;  who  appeared  in  glory,  and 
spake  of  his  decease  which  he  was 
about  to  accomplish  at  Jerusalem. 
Now  Peter  and  they  that  were  with 
him  were  heavy  with  sleep :  but  when 
they  were  fully  awake,  they  saw  his 
glory,  and  the  two  men  that  stood 
with  him.  And  it  came  to  pass,  as 
they  were  parting  from  him,  Peter 
said  unto  Jesus,  Master,  it  is  good 
for  us  to  be  here  :  and  let  us  make 
three  tabernacles ;  one  for  thee,  and 
one  for  Moses,  and  one  for  Elijah : 
not  knowing  what  he  said.  And  while 
he  said  these  things,  there  came  a 
cloud,  and  overshadowed  them  :  and 
they  feared  as  they  entered  into  the 
cloud.  And  a  voice  came  out  of  the 
cloud,  saying,  This  is  my  Son,  my 
chosen  :  hear  ye  him  "  ;  IVLitt.  xvii.  5  : 
"This  is  my  beloved  Son,  in  whom 
I  am  well  pleased  ;  hear  ye  him "  ; 
Mark  ix.  7 :  "  This  is  my  beloved 
Son  :  hear  ye  him." 
5  John  xxi.  18,  ig. 


XXII. 


2  Peter 


>49 


Epistle, — the  reference,  in  this  case,  being  probably  to 
his  Lord's  injunction:  "when  once  thou  hast  turned 
again,  stablish  thy  brethren."  ^ 

2.    The  Readers. 

This  epistle  bears  to  be  addressed  to  the  same  readers 
as  the  First.^ 

3.  Date  and  Place  of  Composition. 

We  may  regard  it  as  certain  that  it  was  written  before 
the  destruction  of  Jerusalem.  Otherwise  such  an  impres- 
sive instance  of  divine  judgment  could  scarcely  have  been 
left  unnoticed  in  alluding  to  the  retributive  justice  of  Gcd.^ 

At  the  same  time  the  errors  and  dangers  described  in 
this  epistle,  which  bear  a  strong  resemblance,  in  some 
respects,  to  those  referred  to  in  the  Pastoral  Epistles, 
prove  that  it  could  not  have  been  written  much  sooner 
than  70  A-D."*  The  allusion  to  Paul's  epistles  as  known 
to  his  readers  ^  leads  to  the  same  conclusion,  as  does 
also    the    frequency   of  the    expression    "  put    in    remem- 


1  Luke  xxii.  32  {aryipiaov).  cf.  2  Peter 
i.  12:  "Wherefore  I  shall  be  ready 
always  to  put  you  in  remembrance  of 
these  things,  though  ye  know  them, 
and  are  established  in  the  truth  which 
is  with  you";  iii.  16,  17:  "...  wherein 
are  some  things  hard  to  be  understood, 
which  the  ignorant  and  misted  fast  wrest, 
as  they  do  also  the  other  scriptures,  unto 
their  own  destruction.  .  .  .  beware  lest, 
being  carried  away  with  the  error  of  the 
^vicked,  ye  fall  from  your  own  stedfast- 
71  ess." 

2  iii.  i:  "This  is  now,  beloved,  the 
second  epistle  that  I  write  unto  you  "  ; 
ef.  i.  16,  which  seems  to  imply  that  the 
writer  had  himself  preached  to  them  ; 
and  iii.  15,  which  assumes  an  acquaint- 
ance with  Paul's  Epistles. 

3  It  follows  from  this  that,  if  the  First 
Epistle  was  not  written  till  after  70  A.  D. , 
this  epistle  must  be  a  forgery. 

■*  Cf.  i.  16,  I  Tim.  i.  4,  iv.  7 ;  ii.  3, 
I  Tim.  vi.  5,  Tit.  i.  11 ;  ii.  10,  2  Tim, 
iii.  1-4. 

•'' iii.  15,  16:  "And  account  that  the 
longsuffering  of  our  Lord  is  salvation  ; 
even  as  our  beloved  brother  Paul  also, 


according  to  the  wisdom  given  to  him, 
wrote  unto  you ;  as  also  in  all  his 
epistles,  speaking  in  them  of  these 
things  ;  wherein  are  some  things  hard 
to  be  understood,  which  the  ignorant 
and  unstedfast  wrest,  as  they  do  also 
the  other  scriptures,  unto  their  own 
destruction."  The  terms  in  which  -St. 
Paul  is  here  referred  to  bear  the  stamp 
of  the  apostolic  age  as  compared,  for 
example,  with  the  language  of  Polycarp, 
when  he  alludes  to  ' '  the  wisdom  of  the 
blessed  and  glorious  Paul."  Similarly, 
a  comparison  of  2  Peter  ii.  15  with  Rev. 
ii.  14,  15  (where  the  offenders  referred 
to  are  definitely  styled  "  Nicolaitans") 
betokens  the  earlier  date  of  the  Epistle. 
Perhaps  "  the  way  of  the  truth  "  (ii.  2  : 
' '  by  reason  of  whom  the  way  of  the 
truth  shall  be  evil  spoken  of"  ;  cf.  vers. 
15,  21),  which  resembles  so  closely  ex- 
pressions in  the  Book  of  Acts  {e.g.  xix. 
9  :  "  But  wlien  some  were  hardened  and 
disobedient,  speaking  evil  of  the  Way 
before  the  multitude")  may  also  be 
regarded  in  a  similar  light.  On  the 
other  hand,  it  must  be  admitted  that 
the  manner  in  which  the  epistles  of  Paul 


250  New  Testament  and  Its  Writers.  xxii. 

brance "  and  kindred  words,  which  indicate  an  advanced 
period  in  the  apostolic  age,  as  well  as  in  the  life  of  Peter 
— assuming  that  he  was  the  writer.^ 

Like  the  First  Epistle,  this  was  probably  written  from 
Rome;  but  the  use  of  the  apostle's  Hebrew  name  of  Symeon, 
in  the  opening  verse  (R.V.  margin),  as  well  as  the  connec- 
tion of  this  epistle  with  that  of  Jude,  would  seem  to  indicate 
a  Palestinian  influence  of  some  sort,  possibly  in  the  person 
of  Peter's  amanuensis  or  secretary.     {Cf.  p.  245,  note  i.) 

4.    Character  and  Contents. 

This  epistle,  unlike  the  First,  is  full  of  denunciation  and 
warning.  It  was  designed  to  put  its  readers  on  their  guard 
against  false  teachers,  who  were  "  enticing  unstedfast  souls," 
"  promising  them  liberty,  while  they  themselves  are  bond- 
servants of  corruption."  ^  In  opposition  to  their  immoral 
doctrines  it  inculcates  a  steady  and  persevering  endeavour 
after  holiness  as  the  only  way  to  advance  in  true  know- 
ledge and  secure  an  entrance  into  the  eternal  kingdom  of 
our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ.^  In  particular,  the 
writer  seeks  to  confute  the  arguments  and  counteract  the 
influence  of  certain  scoffers  who  made  light  of  the  Second 
Coming,  as  if  it  were  a  vain  delusion,  and  appealed  to  the 
constancy  of  Nature  as  a  warrant  for  their  unbelief.*  The 
delay  of  the  divine  judgment  the  writer  attributes  to  the 
fact  that  "  one  day  is  with  the  Lord  as  a  thousand  years, 
and  a  thousand  years  as  one  day,"  alleging  the  delay  to  be 
a  proof  of  God's  mercy  and  long-suflering.  The  destruc- 
tion of  the  world  in  the  days  of  Noah  is  cited  as  an  act  of 
divine  judgment  analogous  to  that  which  is  to  take  place 
at  the  end  of  the  world,  when  the  destroying  element, 
however,  shall  be  not  water  but  fire.  From  the  dread 
catastrophe   there   shall    arise  "  new  heavens  and   a  new 

are  referred  to  in  the  above  passage,  ^  i.  12,  13,  15;  iii.  i,  2. 

as  if  they  were  on  a  le\el  with   ' '  the  ^  Chap.  ii. 

other  scriptures"  (rds  XotTrds  ypa<pds),  ^  i.  3-1 1. 

forms  one  of  the  strongest  objections  to  ■*  Chap.  iii. 
the  genuineness  of  the  Epistle. 


xxir.  Jude.  251 

earth  wherein  dvvelleth  righteousness,"  for  which 
Christians  ought  to  be  preparing ;  and  the  epistle  con- 
cludes much  in  the  same  way  as  it  commenced,  by  a  call 
to  "  grow  in  the  grace  and  knowledge  of  our  Lord  and 
Saviour  Jesus  Christ." 

The  intrinsic  worth  of  the  epistle  is  well  expressed  by 
Calvin  when  he  says,  "the  majesty  of  the  Spirit  of  Christ 
exhibits  itself  in  every  part  of  the  epistle." 


"THE   GENERAL   EPISTLE   OF  JUDE." 

I.  Authorship. 

"Judas,  a  servant  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  brother  of  James." 
It  may  be  regarded  as  certain  that  the  James,  whom  the 
writer  here  claims  as  his  brother,  was  the  well-known  head 
of  the  Church  at  Jerusalem,  one  of  our  Lord's  brethren, 
and  the  writer  of  the  epistle  that  bears  his  name.^  Jude  is 
therefore  not  to  be  identified  with  any  of  the  apostles  of 
the  same  name  mentioned  in  the  Gospels.  Had  he  been 
an  apostle  he  would  doubtless  have  claimed  the  title, 
instead  of  being  content  to  call  himself  "  the  brother  of 
James."  Regarding  Jude  personally  we  know  little  or 
nothing,  but  an  interesting  tradition  concerning  two  of 
his  grandsons  has  been  preserved  by  Hegesippus.  That 
historian  (as  quoted  by  Eusebius)  tells  how  the  Emperor 
Domitian,  being  moved  with  jealousy,  sent  for  these  two 
kinsmen  of  our  Lord  to  inquire  of  them  regarding  the 
kingdom  to  which  they  aspired.  When  he  learned  from 
them  that  they  were  merely  peasant  proprietors  farming  a 
few  acres  of  land  in  Palestine,  and  saw  their  hands  horny 
with  constant  labour,  and  when  they  told  him  further  that 
the  kingdom  to  which  they  looked  forward  was  not  of  this 

1  C/.  pp.  221-3.     Matt.  xiii.  55  :   "Is  carpenter,  the  son  of  Mary,  and  brother 

not  this  the  carpenter's  son?     is  not  his  of  James,  and  Joses,   and  Judas,  and 

mother  called  Mary ?  and  his  brethren,  Simon?    and   are   not   his   sisters   here 

James,    and   Joseph,   and   Simon,   and  with  us?     -And  they  were  offended   in 

Judas?"  Mark  vi.  3:  "Is  not  this  the  him." 


252  Neiv  Testament  and  Its  Writers.  xxii. 

world,  but  to  be  revealed  when  Christ  came  to  judge  the 
quick  and  the  dead,  his  alarm  was  removed,  and  he  allowed 
them  to  depart  in  peace.  Tradition  tells  that  they  lived 
to  the  reign  of  Trajan,  honoured  by  the  Church  for  their 
confession  and  for  their  relation  to  the  Lord. 

The  obscurity  of  Jude  himself  is  a  strong  argument  for 
the  genuineness  of  the  epistle,  as  a  forger  would  have 
chosen  some  more  distinguished  name  to  associate  with 
his  work.  Its  marked  individuality  also,  exhibiting  so 
many  unusual  features,  by  which  it  is  distinguished  from 
all  the  other  books  of  the  New  Testament,  except  2  Peter, 
is  against  the  supposition  of  forgery.  Although  it  is 
reckoned  by  Eusebius  among  the  "  disputed  "  books,  we 
find  it  expressly  quoted  by  Clement  of  Alexandria  in  the 
end  of  the  second  century,  and  recognised  as  canonical  by 
Tertullian  a  few  years  later.  It  has  also  a  place  in  the 
Muratorian  Canon  ;  but  is  absent  from  the  Syriac  Version.* 

2.    The  Readers. 

On  this  subject  we  are  left  to  conjecture.  Considering 
the  Jewish  features  of  the  book  and  the  Jewish  character 
of  its  author,  it  would  seem  probable  that  it  was  written 
for  Christians  in  Palestine,  but  not  to  any  particular 
Church,  as  it  contains  no  special  salutations  or  messages.^ 

3.  Date  and  Place  of  Composition. 

Regarding  the  place  of  writing  we  have  no  direct  in- 
formation, but  all  the  circumstances  point  to  Palestine  as 
its   source.       From    the    absence    of  any   allusion    to   the 

1 A  sentence  in  the  Z?2fi?a<:Af  (see  Appen-  ^fhe   designation    which   the  writer 

dix  p.  282)  seems  to  bean  echo  of  one  gives   himself — Judas,  the   ''■brother  of 

of  its  verses  ;  and  words  or  phrases  have  James  "  was  well-fitted  to  conimand  the 

been  discovered  in  several  other  writings  attention  of  the  Jewish  converts  owing 

of  the  first  or  early  part  of  the  second  to  the  deep  reverence  in  which  James 

century  that  may  have  been  suggested  was    held    by   his    countrymen.       All 

by  it   ((/.  Didache   ii.  7  with  ver.  22).  through  the  epistle  the  writer  assumes 

The  brevity  of  the  epistle  and  its  being  ail    acquaintance,    on   the    part   of    his 

specially  designed  for  Jewish  Christians  readers,  with  Jewish  history  and  litera- 

would  go  far  to  account  for  its  being  so  ture. 
little  quoted  in  the  first  two  centuries. 


XXII. 


Jude. 


25, 


destruction  of  Jerusalem  we  may  infer  that  it  was  written 
prior  to  that  event ;  but  here,  as  in  2  Peter,  the  evils  with 
which  the  epistle  deals  preclude  us  from  giving  it  a  much 
earlier  date.  As  an  approximation  we  may  name 
65-68  A.D.i 


4.   Charactej'  and  Contents. 

This  epistle,  consisting  of  a  single  chapter,  bears  a  very 
striking  likeness  to  the  second  chapter  of  2  Peter,  so  much 
so  that  we  may  conclude  with  confidence  that  the  one  was 
borrowed  from  the  other.-  As  this  epistle  has  certain 
features  of  originality  about  it  which   the  other  lacks,  we 


1  The  opinion  held  by  some  that  there 
is  here  a  reference  to  Gnostic  errors  of 
the  second  century  is  not  well-founded. 
The  evils  were  mainly  of  a  practical 
nature,  and  had  recently  appeared  (ver. 
4,  cf.  22,  23)  ;  and  a  similar  antinomian 
tendency  had  shown  itself  in  St.  Paul's 
time  [cf.  Rom.  vi.  ;  i  Cor.  v.  i-ii  ; 
2  Cor.  -xii.  21  ;  Gal.  v.  13  ;  Eph.  v.  3  ; 
I  Thess.  iv.  6).  The  readers  are  also 
addressed  as  contemporaries  of  the 
Apostles  who  had  heard  the  words 
(p7?/iciTa)  spoken  by  them.  Vers. 
17,  18  :  "  But  ye,  beloved,  remember 
ye  the  words  which  have  been  spoken 
before  by  the  apostles  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ ;  how  that  they  said  to  you.  In 
the  last  time  there  shall  be  mockers, 
walking  after  their  own  ungodly  lusts." 
It  also  seems  to  be  implied  in  the  state- 
ment of  Hegesippus  above  referred  to 
that  Jude  was  dead  before  the  reign  of 
Domitian  (81  a.d.). 

"^  The  great  similarity  will  at  once  be 
seen  on  a  comparison  of  the  following 
parallel  passages: — Jude  4  =  2  Peter  ii. 
I  :  "  For  there  are  certain  men  crept  in 
privily,  even  they  who  were  of  old  set 
forth  unto  this  condemnation,  ungodly 
men,  turning  the  grace  of  our  God  into 
lasciviousness,  and  denying  our  only 
Master  and  Lord,  Jesus  Christ,"  "  But 
there  arose  false  prophets  also  among 
the  people,  as  among  you  also  there 
shall  be  false  teachers,  who  shall  privily 
bring  in  destructive  heresies,  denying 
even  the  Master  that  bought  them, 
bringing  upon  themselves  swift  destruc- 
tion "  ;  6  =  ii.  4:  "And  angels  which 
kept  not  their  own  principality,  but  left 
their  proper  habitation,  he  hath  kept  in 


everlasting  bonds  under  darkness  unto 
the  judgement  of  the  great  day,"  "  For 
if  God  spared  not  angels  when  they 
sinned,  but  cast  them  down  to  hell,  and 
committed  them  to  pits  of  darkness,  to 
be  reserved  unto  judgement  "  ;  7=ii.  6  : 
"  Even  as  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  and 
the  cities  about  them,  having  in  like 
manner  with  these  given  themselves 
over  to  fornication,  and  gone  after 
strange  flesh,  as  set  forth  as  an  ex- 
ample, suffering  the  punishment  of 
eternal  fire,"  "  and  turning  the  cities  of 
Sodom  and  Gomorrah  into  ashes,  con- 
demned them  with  an  overthrow,  hav- 
ing made  them  an  example  unto  those 
that  should  live  ungodly";  8  =  ii.  10: 
"  Yet  in  like  manner  these  also  in  their 
dreamings  defile  the  flesh,  and  set  at 
nought  dominion,  and  rail  at  dignities," 
"  but  chiefly  them  that  walk  after  the 
flesh  in  the  lust  of  defilement,  and  de- 
spise dominion.  Daring,  selfwilled 
they  tremble  not  to  rail  at  dignities"; 
9  =  ii.  II  :  "  But  Michael  the  archangel, 
when  contending  with  the  devil  he  dis- 
puted about  the  body  of  Moses,  durst 
not  bring  against  him  a  railing  judge- 
ment, but  said,  The  Lord  rebuke  thee," 
"whereas  angels,  though  greater  in 
might  and  power,  bring  not  a  railing 
judgement  against  them  before  the 
Lord";  io=ii.  12:  "But  these  rail  at 
whatsoever  things  they  know  not  :  and 
what  they  understand  naturally,  like 
the  creatures  without  reason,  in  these 
things  are  they  destroyed,"  "  But  these, 
as  creatures  without  reason,  born  mere 
animals  to  be  taken  and  destroyed,  rail- 
ing in  matters  whereof  they  are  ignorant, 
shall  in  their  destroying  surely  be  de- 


254 


New  Testament  and  Its  Writers. 


XXII. 


may  infer  that  St.  Peter  and  not  Jude  was  the  borrower.^ 
It  is  quite  possible,  however,  that  the  Epistle  of  Jude  may 
itself  be  the  translation  of  an  Aramaic  original — ^judging, 
for  example,  from  its  fondness  for  threefold  expressions.^ 

The  Epistle  is  remarkable  for  several  allusions  to  matters 
of  ancient  history  that  are  not  recorded  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment. It  contains  a  quotation  from  an  apocryphal  book 
of  Enoch,  and  one  of  its  illustrations,  Origen  tells  us,  was 
derived  from  a  book  called  "  The  Assumption  of  Moses," 
only  about  a  third  part  of  which,  in  the  form  of  a  Latin 
version,  has  been  preserved  to  us.^      These  allusions  are 


stroyed  "  ;  ii=ii.  13,  15:  "Woe  unto 
them  !  for  they  went  in  the  way  of  Cain, 
and  ran  riotously  in  the  error  of  Balaam 
for  hire,  and  perished  in  the  gainsaying 
of  Korah,"  ' '  Suffering  wrong  as  the  hire 
of  wrong-doing,  .  .  .  forsaking  the  right 
way,  they  went  astray,  having  followed 
the  way  of  Balaam  the  son  of  Beor, 
who  loved  the  hire  of  wrong-doing"  ; 
i2  =  ii.  13:  "These  are  they  who  are 
hidden  rocks  in  your  love-feasts  when 
they  feast  with  you,  shepherds  that 
without  fear  feed  themselves";  "Men 
that  count  it  pleasure  to  revel  in  the 
day-time,  spots  and  blemishes,  revel- 
ling in  their  love-feasts  while  they  feast 
with  you";  12,  i3  =  ii.  \T.  "Clouds 
without  water,  carried  along  by  winds  ; 
autumn  trees  without  fruit,  twice  dead, 
plucked  up  by  the  roots  ;  wild  waves  of 
the  sea,  foaming  out  their  own  shame  ; 
wandering  stars,  for  whom  the  black- 
ness of  darkness  hath  been  reserved 
for  ever,"  "These  are  springs  without 
water,  and  mists  driven  by  a  storm  ;  for 
whom  the  blackness  of  darkness  hath 
been  reserved";  i6  =  ii.  18:  "These 
are  murmurers,  complainers,  walking 
after  their  lusts  (and  their  mouth  speak- 
eth  great  swelling  words),  shewing 
respect  of  persons  for  the  sake  of  ad- 
vantage," "  For,  uttering  great  swelling 
words  of  vanity,  they  entice  in  the  lusts 
of  the  flesh,  by  lasciviousness,  those  who 
are  just  escaping  from  them  that  live 
in  error";  i7=iii.2:  "  But  ye,  beloved, 
remember  ye  the  words  which  have 
been  spoken  before  by  the  apostles  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,"  ' ' That  ye  should 
remember  the  words  which  were  spoken 
before  by  the  holy  prophets,  and  the 
commandment  of  the  Lord  and  Saviour 
through    your  apostles  "  ;    i8  =  iii.    3  : 


"  How  that  they  said  to  you,  In  the 
last  time  there  shall  be  mockers,  walk- 
ing after  their  own  ungodly  lusts," 
"  Knowing  this  first,  that  in  the  last 
days  mockers  shall  come  with  mockery, 
walking  after  their  own  lusts." 

1  E.g.  Jude  9  (quoted  above)  ;  cf.  2 
Peter  ii.  11  (quoted  above),  which 
would  be  unintelligible  to  us  but  for 
the  light  afforded  by  the  more  definite 
statement  of  Jude.  Similarly  the  sin  of 
"angels  which  kept  not  their  own  prin- 
cipality "  is  brought  out  in  Jude  6,  7,  in 
connection  with  the  sin  of  Sodom  and 
Gomorrah,  as  it  is  not  in  2  Peter  ii.  4-6. 
The  incorporation  of  the  shorter  epistle 
in  the  longer  is  also  more  natural  than 
the  republication  of  an  extract  from 
2  Peter  (with  a  few  additional  verses)  by 
one  whose  name  would  give  it  far  less 
weight  than  that  which  it  had  hitherto 
borne.  The  freshness  and  vigour  of 
style  of  the  Epistle  of  Jude,  as  compared 
with  the  occasional  amplification  and 
attempted  improvement  (in  the  way  of 
softening  strong  features  and  modifying 
unusual  expressions)  which  can  be  traced 
in  2  Peter,  lead  to  the  same  conclusion. 
On  the  ethics  of  Apostolic  borrowing, 
see  Salmon's  Introduction,  5th  edition, 

P-  493- 

-  Ver.  I  :  "To  them  that  are  called, 
beloved  in  God  the  Father,  and  kept  for 
Jesus  Chrjst " ;  8:  "Defile  the  flesh, 
and  set  at  nought  dominion,  and  rail 
at  dignities"  ;  11  :  "The  way  of  Cain, 
.  .  .  the  error  of  Balaam,  .  .  .  the 
gainsaying  of  Korah,"  &c. 

3  Vers.  14,  15:  "And  to  these  also 
Enoch,  the  seventh  from  Adam,  pro- 
phesied, saying.  Behold,  the  Lord  came 
with  ten  thousands  of  his  holy  ones,  to 
execute  judgement  upon  all,  and  to  con- 


XX I  r.  J  tide.  255 

not  more  at  variance  with  the  doctrine  of  Inspiration  than 
the  quotations  in  the  Old  Testament  from  the  "  Book  of 
Jasher,"  and  other  such  documents,  or  Paul's  allusions 
to  "  Jannes  and  Jambres,"  or  his  quotations  from  heathen 
writers.^  In  2  Peter,  however,  these  quotations  almost 
disappear,  and  there  is  also  an  omission  of  one  or  two 
seeming  references  to  Levitical  uncleanness,  as  if  the 
writer  desired  to  adapt  his  epistle  as  far  as  possible  for 
general  use.- 

This  epistle  is  full  of  sharp  and  stern  denunciation,  aimed 
at  practical  evils  of  a  most  heinous  character,  committed 
by  men  who  were  "  turning  the  grace  of  our  God  into 
lasciviousness,  and  denying  our  only  Master  and  Lord, 
Jesus  Christ."^  These  evils  were  founded  upon  a  gross 
abuse  of  Christian  liberty,  and  were  somewhat  similar  to 
the  terrible  excesses  which  broke  out  among  the  Ana- 
baptists after  the  Protestant  Reformation,  resulting  from 
the  abuse  of  the  doctrine  of  Justification  by  Faith,  Avhen 
professing  Christians  combined  the  guilt  of  Cain  (blood- 
shed), of  Balaam  (seduction),  and  of  Korah  (insubordina- 
tion).*   In  view  of  the  corruption  both  of  faith  and  manners 

vict  all  the  ungodly  of  all  their  works  of  imagination,  of  a  desultory  kind.     The 

ungodliness   which   they  have  ungodly  Assumption  of  Moses  \%c\\.&dihy(Z\<tx^evA. 

wrought,    and   of  all   the   hard   things  of  Alexandria,  Origen,  and  others.    The 

which    ungodly    sinners    have    spoken  extant  portion  does  not  extend  to  the 

against  him";  ver.   9:    "But  Michael  death  of  Moses,  and  therefore  does  not 

the   archangel,   when   contending   with  contain  the  incident  referred  to  by  Jude. 

the  devil  he  disputed  about  the  body  of  1  Joshua  x.   13,  (S:c.  ;    2  Tim.  iii.    8  ; 

Moses,  durst  not  bring  against  him  a  Titus  i.  12  ;  Acts  xvii.  28. 

railing  judgement,  but  said,  The  Lord  -Vers.  8  and  23. 

rebuke  thee."      Jerome   mentions   that  ■'Vers.    3,  4:   "Beloved,  while  I  was 

the  quotation  from  the  Book  of  Enoch  giving  all  diligence  to  write  unto   you 

had  led  many  to  reject  the  Epistle  ;  but  of  our   common   salvation,  I  was  con- 

Tertullian  thought  the  Book  of  Enoch  strained   to   write   unto   you   exhorting 

itself  should  be  received  as  canonical,  you  to  contend  earnestly  for  the  faith 

although  rejected  by  the  Jews.     Several  which  was  once  for  all  delivered  unto 

copies   of  an   Ethiopic   version  of  this  the  saints.      For  there  are  certain  men 

book  were  brought  from  Abyssinia  by  crept    in    privily,  even    they  who  were 

the  traveller  Bruce  in  1773,  of  which  an  of  old  set  forth  unto  this  condemnation, 

English    translation   was    published  in  ungodly  men,  turning  the  grace  of  our 

1821.  and  a  German  translation  in  1853,  God    into    lasciviousness,   and   denying 

enabling    us   to    identify   the    passage  our    only     Master    and     Lord,     Jesus 

quoted  by  Jude;   and  recently  a  large  Christ." 

part    of    it    in    Greek    has    been    dis-  ■•  Ver.    11:   "Woe   unto   them!    for 

covered  in  Egypt.     Its  original  compo-  they  went  in  the  way  of  Cain,  and  ran 

sition  (possibly  in  Hebrew)  is  generally  riotously  in  the  error  of  Balaam  for  hire 

assigned  to  the  century  preceding  the  and    perished     in     the    gainsaying    of 

Christian  era.      It  is  largely  a  work  of  Korah."    "  The  persons  whom  St.  Jude 


256 


New  Testament  and  Its  Writers. 


XXII. 


that  was  thus  beginning  to  infect  the  Church,  Jude  exhorts 
his  readers  to  "  contend  earnestly  for  the  faith  which  was 
once  for  all  delivered  unto  the  saints,"  and  appeals  to  the 
past  history  of  God's  judgments  for  proof  of  the  punishment 
in  store  for  the  present  offenders,  whom  he  commends 
nevertheless  to  the  compassion  and  care  of  their  believing 
brethren. 

The  Epistle  concludes  with  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
doxologies  to  be  found  in  the  New  Testament.^ 


so  vehemently  denounces  find  their  ex- 
act analogue  in  the  days  of  the  Refor- 
mation. They  are  the  invariable  pro- 
duct of  an  epoch  of  religious  ferment 
and  excitement.  Their  abuse  of  the 
preaching  of  St.  Paul  exactly  resembles 
the  abuse  of  Luther's  preaching  by  men 
like  Storch  and  Matthys  and  Rothman 
and  even  Carlstadt.  Such  men  would 
have  been  denounced  equally  by  Judseo- 
Christians  like  James  and  Jude,  or  by 
St.  Peter,  or  by  St.  Paul  himself,  just 
as  the  Anabaptists  were  by  men  like 
Cardinal  Cajetan,  or  like  Erasmus,  or 
like  Luther.  .  .  .  The  Epistle  of  St. 
Jude  draws  a  picture  which  might  be 
applied  line  byline,  and  word  by  word, 
to     the    obscure    wretches     (dvdpwxoi 


Tiues) — the  Bochelsons,  and  Knipper- 
dollings,  the  Krechtings  and  Hoffmans, 
the  Stiibners,  and  Miinzers — of  the 
years  1521  to  1535  ;  and  something  of 
Jude's  own  tone  rings  through  the  eight 
sermons  which  Luther  preached  at 
Wittemberg  on  the  days  after  his  re- 
turn to  that  city  in  1522."  —  Farrar, 
Messages  of  the  Books,  p.  456. 

2  Vers.  24,  25  :  ''  Now  unto  him  that 
is  able  to  keep  you  from  falling,  and 
to  present  you  faultless  before  the  pre- 
sence of  his  glory  with  exceeding  joy, 
to  the  only  wise  God  our  Saviour, 
be  glory  and  majesty,  dominion  and 
power,  both  now  and  forever.  Amen." 
— A.V.     Cf.  Rom.  xvi.  25-27. 


CHAPTER    XXIII. 

I,   2,   AND   3   JOHN. 
"  THE   FIRST   EPISTLE   GENERAL   OF  JOHN." 

I.  Authoi'sliip. 

This  epistle  was  used  by  two  of  the  Fathers  who  had 
been  disciples  of  the  Apostle  John,  viz.,  Polycarp  and 
Papias.  It  was  recognised  and  quoted  as  John's  by 
Irenaeus,  who  had  been  a  disciple  of  Polycarp,  and  it  was 
evidently  known  by  the  writer  of  the  Letter  to  Diognetus. 
It  is  freely  quoted  by  Clement  of  Alexandria  and  Ter- 
tullian,  is  referred  to  in  the  Muratorian  Fragment,  and  is 
one  of  the  books  contained  in  the  Syriac,  as  well  as  in  the 
Old  Latin  Version. 

Its  internal  character  is  such  as  to  confirm  us  in  the 
belief  that  it  was  written  by  the  author  of  the  Fourth 
Gospel.     Not  only  has  it  many  verbal  similarities,^  but  it 

1  E.g.  i.   i:   "That  which  was  from  the   eternal    life,    which   was   with   the 

the    beginning,    that    which    we    have  Father,  and  was  manifested  unto  us) "  ; 

heard,  that  which  we  have  seen  with  our  cf.  John  iii.    ii:   "Verily,  verily,  I  say 

eyes,  that  which  we   beheld,   and   our  unto  thee.  We  speak  that  we  do  know, 

hands  handled,  concerning  the  Word  of  and  bear  witness  of  that  we  have  seen  ; 

life";  cf.   John  i.  i,  14:    "In    the    be-  and  ye  receive  not  our  witness."     i.  3  : 

ginning  was  the  Word,  and  the  Word  "that  which  we  have  seen  and  heard 

was  with  God,  and  the  Word  was  God.  declare  we  unto  you  also,  that  ye  also 

.   .  .  And  the  Word  became  flesh,  and  may  have  fellowship  with  us  :  yea,  and 

dwelt  among  us   (and   we  beheld   his  our  fellowship  is  with  the  Father,  and 

glory,  glory  as  of  the  only  begotten  from  with  his  Son   Jesus   Christ";  cf.  John 

the  Father),  full  of  grace  and  truth  ";  XX.  xvii.  2t  :    "that  they  may  all  be  one; 

27  :   "Then  saith  he  to  Thomas,  Reach  even  as  thou,  Father,  art  in  me,  and  I 

hitherthy  finger,  and  see  my  hands;  and  in   thee,   that  they  also  maybe  in  us: 

reach  hither  thy  hand,  and  put  it  into  that   the  world   may  believe   that   thou 

my  side  :  and  be  not  faithless,  but  be-  didst  send  me."   i.  4  :  "  and  these  things 

lieving."     i.  2  :  "  (and  the  life  was  mani-  we  write,  that  our  joy  may  be  fulfilled  "  ; 

fested,    and   we   have  seen,    and    bear  cf.   John  xvi.    24:    "Hitherto   have   ye 

witness,  and  declare  unto  you  the  life,  asked  nothing   in   my  nan\e  :  ask,  and 


258 


New  Testament  and  Its  Writers. 


XXIII. 


is  dominated  by  the  same  Christian  idealism  which  refers 
all  things  in  human  life  to  the  ultimate  principles  of  light 
and  darkness,  truth  and  error,  good  and  evil,  love  and 
hatred,  life  and  death,  God  and  the  devil.  So  intimate 
is  the  connection  between  the  two  books  that  the  epistle 
was  regarded  by  the  late  Bishop  Lightfoot  and  others  as 
forming  a  postscript  to  the  Gospel.^ 


2.    The  Readers? 
In  all  probability  it  was  addressed  in  the  first  instance 


ye  shall  receive,  that  your  joy  may  be 
fulfilled."  i.  5,  6:  "And  this  is  the 
message  which  we  have  heard  from  him, 
and  announce  unto  you,  that  God  is 
light,  and  in  him  is  no  darkness  at  all. 
If  we  say  that  we  have  fellowship  with 
him,  and  walk  in  the  darkness,  we  lie, 
and  do  not  the  truth  "  ;  cf.  John  i.  5  : 
"  And  the  light  shineth  in  the  darkness  ; 
and  the  darkness  apprehended  it  not  "  ; 
iii.  21:  "But  he  that  doeth  the  truth 
Cometh  to  the  light,  that  his  works  may 
be  made  manifest,  that  they  have  been 
wrought  in  God";  viii.  12:  "Again 
therefore  Jesus  spake  unto  them,  saying, 

I  am  the  light  of  the  world  :  he  that 
followeth  me  shall  not  walk  in  the  dark- 
ness, but  shall  have  the  light  of  life. "    ii. 

II  :  "  But  he  that  hateth  his  brother  is  in 
the  darkness,  and  walketh  in  the  dark- 
ness, and  knoweth  not  whither  he  goeth, 
because  the  darkness  hath  blinded  his 
eyes  "  ;  cf.  John  xii.  35  :  "Jesus  therefore 
said  unto  them.  Yet  a  little  while  is  the 
light  among  you.  Walk  while  ye  have 
the  light,  that  darkness  overtake  you 
not :  and  he  that  walketh  in  the  dark- 
ness knoweth  not  whither  he  goeth." 
iii.  14  :  "  We  know  that  we  have  passed 
out  of  death  into  life,  because  we  love 
the  brethren.  He  that  loveth  not  abid- 
eth  in  death  "  ;  cf.  John  v.  24  :  "Verily, 
verily,  I  say  unto  you,  He  that  heareth 
my  word  and  believeth  him  that  sent 
me,  hath  eternal  life,  and  cometh  not 
into  judgement,  but  hath  passed  out  of 
death  into  life."  iv.  9:  "Herein  was 
the  love  of  God  manifested  in  us,  that 
God  hath  sent  his  only  begotten  Son 
into  the  world,  that  we  might  live 
through  him";  cf.  John  i.  14:  "And 
the  Word  became  flesh,  and  dwelt 
among  us  (and  we  beheld  his  glory, 
glory  as  of  the  only  begotten  from 
the  Father),  full  of  grace  and  truth"  ; 
iii.  16  :  "  For  God  so  loved  the  world, 


that  he  gave  his  only  begotten  Son, 
that  whosoever  believeth  on  him  should 
not  perish,  but  have  eternal  life."  iv.  14: 
"  And  we  have  beheld  and  bear  witness 
that  the  Father  hath  sent  the  Son  to  be 
the  Saviour  of  the  world  "  ;  cf.  John  iv. 
42:  "and  they  said  to  the  woman, 
Now  we  believe,  not  because  of  thy 
speaking  :  for  we  have  heard  for  our- 
selves, and  know  that  this  is  indeed  the 
Saviour  of  the  world."  v.  6  :  "This  is 
he  that  came  by  water  and  blood,  even 
Jesus  Christ;  not  with  the' water  only, 
but  with  the  water  and  with  the  blood  "  ; 
cf.  John  xix.  34  :  "  howbeit  one  of  the 
soldiers  with  a  spear  pierced  his  side,, 
and  straightway  there  came  out  blood 
and  water." 

1  Prof.  Ramsay  says:  "No  tw» 
works  in  the  whole  range  of  literature 
show  clearer  signs  of  the  genius  of  one 
writer,  and  no  other  pair  of  works  are 
so  completely  in  a  class  by  themselves, 
apart  from  the  work  of  their  own  and 
every  other  time.  One  work  alone 
stands  near  them,  the  Apocalypse  ;  and 
while  identity  of  authorship  is  very  far 
from  being  so  clear,  as  in  the  case  of 
the  Gospel  and  Epistle,  yet  there  is  a 
closer  relation  between  the  three  works 
than  exists  between  any  of  them  and 
any  fourth  work.  We  must  expect  to 
find  a  close  connection  in  time  and  cir- 
cumstances of  origin  between  the  First 
Epistle  and  the  Apocalypse  "  {Church 
171  the  Roman  Empire,  p.  303). 

-  Augustine  and  other  Latin  writers 
speak  of  the  epistle  as  addressed  to  the 
Parthians,  but  this  was  probably  a 
mistake  occasioned  by  the  Greek  term 
Trapdevos  ("virgin"),  which  was  fre- 
quently applied  to  the  Apostle  John,  in 
allusion  to  his  supposed  lifelong  celi- 
bacy, or  it  may  have  arisen  from  the 
Second  Epistle  being  addressed  in  some 
MSS.  irpds  irapdkvovs. 


XXIII.  \  John.  259 

to  the  Churches  of  Asia,  among  whom  the  Apostle  John 
spent  the  latter  part  of  his  life.  The  closing  exhortation  : 
"  My  little  children,  guard  yourselves  from  idols,"  would 
have  special  significance  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Ephesus, 
which  was  a  great  stronghold  of  idolatry  ;  and  the  absence 
of  allusions  to  the  Old  Testament  bears  out  the  supposition 
that  the  epistle  was  addressed  to  converts  from  heathenism. 
Although  there  is  no  salutation  either  at  the  beginning  or 
the  end,  and  no  personal  or  historical  allusions  such  as 
would  have  been  likely  to  occur  if  it  had  been  a  letter 
addressed  to  an  individual  Church,  yet  the  writer  speaks  in 
a  quiet  tone  of  authority  as  if  he  were  well-known  to  his 
readers  and  expected  that  his  words  would  command 
respect.  He  addresses  them  in  terms  of  affection,  and 
writes  as  if  he  were  well  acquainted  with  their  dangers  and 
their  needs.^ 

3.  Date  and  Place  of  Composition. 

It  was  probably  written  in  the  same  city  as  tradition 
assigns  to  the  Gospel,  viz.,  Ephesus ;  and  about  the  same 
time — 85  A.D.,  or  a  few  years  later.  It  takes  the  Gospel  for 
granted,  and  in  certain  passages  the  tone  of  its  language  is 
such  as  would  befit  an  aged  apostle  addressing  men  of  a 
later  generation.'- 

4.   Character  and  Contents. 

In  this  epistle — probably  the  last  inspired  utterance  of 
the  New  Testament  excepting  the  two  brief  missives  that 

^  E.g.  ii.  7:  "Beloved,  no  new  com-  any  particular  circumstances,  but  as  a 
mandment  write  I  unto  you,  but  an  Pastoral  addressed  to  those  who  had 
old  commandment  which  ye  had  from  been  carefully  trained  and  had  lived 
the  beginning  :  the  old  commandment  long  in  the  Faith  ;  and,  more  particular- 
is  the  word  which  ye  heard  "  ;  iii.  13  :  ly,  to  those  who  were  familiar  either 
"Marvel  not,  brethren,  if  the  world  with  the  teaching  contained  in  the 
hateth  you"  ;  iv.  7  :  "  Beloved,  let  us  Fourth  Gospel  or  with  the  record  itself, 
love  one  another :  for  love  is  of  God  ;  The  substance  of  the  Gospel  is  a  com- 
and  every  one  that  loveth  is  begotten  of  mentary  on  the  Epistle  :  the  Epistle  is 
God,  and  knoweth  God."  (so  to  speak)  the  condensed  moral  and 

2  "My  little  children,"  ii.  i,  12,  &c.  practical  application  of  the  Gospel." — 

"Perhaps    we    can    best  look    at    the  'Wes\.co\.\.  on  The  Epistles  of  St.  John. 
writing   not  as  a  Letter  called  out  by 


26o  New  Testament  and  Its  Writers.  xxiii. 

follow  it — we  have  the  translation  into  the  Christian  life  of 
those  great  truths,  regarding  the  fellowship  of  God  with 
man,  that  are  found  in  the  fourth  Gospel  in  connection 
with  the  life  and  ministry  oi  Jesus  Christ.  That  Gospel,  as 
we  have  seen,  is  doctrinal  as  well  as  historical,  but  its 
doctrines  are  here  applied  to  the  lives  of  Christ's  followers. 
The  Epistle  is  thus  in  advance  of  the  Gospel,  being 
desig-ned  to  lead  Christians  to  a  conscious  realisation  of  the 
new  life  to  which  they  are  called  in  fellowship  with  Christ 
— a  life  transcending  and  vanquishing  that  of  the  world.^ 

Its  thought  springs  mainly  out  of  a  twofold  conception 
of  the  Divine  Nature  as  "  light"  and  as  "  love"  united  by  a 
bond  of  7'ighteousness?  There  is  no  laboured  argument 
such  as  we  find  in  some  of  Paul's  epistles,  but  simply  an 
appeal  to  first  principles  that  are  to  be  seen  with  the 
spiritual  eye,  not  to  be  proved  by  means  of  logic.^ 

Although  lofty  and  spiritual,  the  teaching  in  the  epistle 
is  at  the  same  time  intensely  practical.  It  was  evidently 
intended  to  counteract  the  growing  tendency  to  magnify 
knowledge  at  the  expense  of  practice.*     One  form  of  this 

1  i.  4  :  "and  these  things  we  write,  tian  society,  the  depository  of  the  Truth, 
that  our  joy  maybe  fulfilled  "  ;  v.  12,  13  :  and  the  witness  for  the  Truth.  By  this, 
"  He  that  hath  the  Son  hath  the  life;  therefore,  all  that  need  be  done  to  pro- 
he  that  hath  not  the  Son  of  God  hath  claim  the  Gospel  to  those  without  is 
not  the  life.  These  things  have  I  done  naturally  and  effectively  in  virtue 
written  unto  you,  that  ye  may  know  of  its  very  existence.  It  must  overcome 
that  ye  have  eternal  life,  even  unto  you  the  darkness  by  shining.  There  is 
that  believe  on  the  name  of  the  Son  of  therefore  no  need  for  eager  exhortation 
God";  V.  4,  5:  "  For  whatsoever  is  be-  to  spread  the  word.  St.  Paul  wrote 
gotten  of  God  overcometh  the  world  :  while  the  conflict  was  undecided  :  St. 
and  this  is  the  victory  that  hath  over-  John  has  seen  its  close  "  (Westcott). 
come  the  world,  even  our  faith.  And  2  ;_ — ii.28;  ii.29 — iv.6  ;  iv.7 — v. 
who  is  he  that  overcometh  the  world,  ^  iv.  6:  "We  are  of  God:  he  that 
but  he  that  believeth  that  Jesus  is  the  knoweth  God  heareth  us  ;  he  who  is  not 
Son  of  God?"  Cy".  John  XX.  31  :  "But  of  God  heareth  us  not.  By  this  we 
these  are  written,  that  ye  may  believe  know  the  spirit  of  truth,  and  the  spirit 
that   Jesus   is   the   Christ,    the   Son   of  of  error." 

God;  and  that  believing  ye  may  have  ■*  i.  6,  7;  "If  we  say  that  we  have 

life  in  His  name."     "According  to   his  fellowship  with  him,   and  walk    in  the 

view,    which   answers    to    the    eternal  darkness,  we  lie,  and  do  not  the  truth  : 

order  of  things,  the  world  exists  indeed,  but  if  we  walk  in  the  light,  as  he  is  in 

but   more  as   a  semblance  than   as  a  the  light,  we  have  fellowship  one  with 

reality.    It   is  overcome  finally  and  for  another,  and  the  blood  of  Jesus  his  Son 

ever.     It  is  on  the  point  of  vanishing.  cleanseth   us   from    all   sin  "  ;    ii.    3-6  : 

This  outward  consummation  is  in  God's  "And  hereby  know  we  that  we  know 

hands.     And  over  against  '  the  world '  him,    if  we   keep  his  commandments, 

there  is  the  Church,  the  organised  Chris-  He  that  saith,  I  know  him,  and  keepeth 


XXIII. 


I  Joint. 


261 


incipient  Gnosticism  was  associated  with  the  name  of 
CerintJws,  who  lived  at  Ephesus  in  the  time  of  the  apostle. 
Cerinthus,  like  many  others,  denied  the  reality  of  Christ's 
humanity/  maintaining,  in  particular,  that  the  Divine  Being 
only  entered  into  the  man  Jesus  at  his  Baptism  and  left 
him  on  the  eve  of  his  Passion.  Hence  the  emphatic 
statement  of  the  apostle,  "  This  is  he  that  came  by 
water  and  blood,  even  Jesus  Christ ;  not  with  the  water 
only,  but  with  the"  water  and  with  the  blood," — implying 
that  the  Saviour  fulfilled  His  divine  mission  in  His  deatJi 
upon  the  cross  as  well  as  in  His  baptism.-  Again  and 
again,  in  other  passages,  the  apostle  insists  on  the  reality 
of  the  union  between  Jesus  and  the  Christ,  as  an  essential 
element  of  the  Christian  faith. 

While  it  gives  no  quarter  to  evil  and  falsehood,  the 
epistle  overflows  with  exhortations  to  the  love  of  God  and 
man.*     As  we  read  the  apostle's  language  here,  we  find  it 


not  his  commandments,  is  a  liar,  and 
the  truth  is  not  in  him  :  but  whoso 
keepeth  his  word,  in  him  verily  hath  the 
love  of  God  been  perfected.  Hereby 
know  we  that  we  are  in  him  :  he  that 
saith  he  abideth  in  him  ought  himself 
also  to  walk  even  as  he  walked  "  ;  iii.  6- 
10:  "Whosoever  abideth  in  him  sin- 
neth  not :  whosoever  sinneth  hath  not 
seen  him,  neither  knoweth  him.  My 
little  children,  let  no  man  lead  you 
astray :  he  that  doeth  righteousness  is 
righteous,  even  as  he  is  righteous  :  he 
that  doeth  sin  is  of  the  devil  ;  for  the 
devil  sinneth  from  the  beginning.  To 
this  end  was  the  Son  of  God  manifested, 
that  he  might  destroy  the  works  of  the 
devil.  Whosoever  is  begotten  of  God 
doeth  no  sin,  because  his  seed  abideth 
in  him  :  and  he  cannot  sin,  because  he 
is  begotten  of  God.  In  this  the  children 
of  God  are  manifest,  and  the  children  of 
the  devil :  whosoever  doeth  not  right- 
eousness is  not  of  God,  neither  he  that 
loveth  not  his  brother." 

1  Hence  called  Docctcc  from  a  Greek 
word  meaning  apparent,  not  real. 

■■^  v.  6. 

3  ii.  18,  22  :  "  Little  children,  it  is  the 
last  hour  :  and  as  ye  heard  that  anti- 
christ Cometh,  even  now  have  there 
arisen  many  antichrists ;  whereby  we 
know  that  it    is    the  last    hour.  .  .   . 


Who  is  the  liar  but  he  that  denieth 
that  Jesus  is  the  Christ?  This  is 
the  antichrist,  even  he  that  denieth 
the  Father  and  the  Son  "  ;  iv.  2,  3,  15  : 
"  Hereby  know  ye  the  Spirit  of  God  : 
every  spirit  which  confesseth  that  Jesus 
Christ  is  come  in  the  flesh  is  of  God  : 
and  every  spirit  which  confesseth  not 
Jesus  is  not  of  God  :  and  this  is  the 
spirit  of  the  antichrist,  whereof  ye  have 
heard  that  it  cometh  ;  and  now  it  is  in 
the  world  already.  .  .  .  Whosoever  shall 
confess  that  Jesus  is  the  Son  of  God, 
God  abideth  in  him,  and  he  in  God  "  ; 
V.  I,  5  :  "  Whosoever  believeth  that  Jesus 
is  the  Christ  is  begotten  of  God  :  .  .  . 
And  who  is  he  that  overcometh  the 
world,  but  he  that  believeth  that  Jesus 
is  the  Son  of  God  ?  "     Cf.  i.  1-4. 

•*  ii.  9-1 1  :  "  He  that  saith  he  is  in  the 
light,  and  hateth  his  brother,  is  in  the 
darkness  even  until  now.  He  that 
loveth  his  brother  abideth  in  the  light, 
and  there  is  none  occasion  of  stumbling 
in  him.  But  he  that  hateth  his  brother 
is  in  the  darkness,  and  walketh  in  the 
darkness,  and  knoweth  not  whither  he 
goeth,  because  the  darkness  hath  blinded 
his  eyes"  ;  iii.  11-18  :  "For  this  is  the 
message  which  ye  heard  from  the  begin- 
ning, that  we  should  love  one  another  : 
not  as  Cain  was  of  the  evil  one,  and 
slew  his  brother.     And  wherefore  slew 


262 


New  Testament  and  Its  Writers. 


XXIII. 


easy  to  believe  the  story  told  of  him  by  Jerome,  that  when 
he  was  too  old  to  preach  he  used  to  be  carried  to  church 
simply  to  repeat  in  the  hearing  of  the  congregation, 
"  Little  children,  love  one  another."  And  when  some  one 
asked  him,  "  Master,  why  dost  thou  always  speak  thus  ?  " 
he  answered,  "  Because  it  is  the  Lord's  command  ;  and  it 
only  this  be  done,  it  is  enough." 


"  THE   SECOND   EPISTLE   OF  JOHN." 

I.  Aztthorship. 

The  external  evidence  for  the  genuineness  of  this 
epistle  is  not  so  convincing  as  in  the  case  of  the  one  that 
we  have  just  been  considering  ;  but  this  is  easily  accounted 


he  him  ?  Because  his  works  were  evil, 
and  his  brother's  righteous.  Marvel 
not,  brethren,  if  the  world  hateth  you. 
We  know  that  we  have  passed  out  of 
death  into  life,  because  we  love  the 
brethren.  He  that  loveth  not  abideth 
in  death.  Whosoever  hateth  his 
brother  is  a  murderer  :  and  ye  know 
that  no  murderer  hath  eternal  life 
abiding  in  him.  Hereby  know  we  love, 
because  he  laid  down  his  life  for  us  : 
and  we  ought  to  lay  down  our  lives  for 
the  brethren.  But  whoso  hath  the 
world's  goods,  and  beholdeth  his 
brother  in  need,  and  shutteth  up  his 
compassion  from  him,  how  doth  the 
love  of  God  abide  in  him?  My  little 
children,  let  us  not  love  in  word,  neither 
with  the  tongue ;  but  in  deed  and 
truth";  iv.  7-13,  16-21:  "  Beloved,  let 
us  love  one  another  :  for  love  is  of  God  ; 
and  every  one  that  loveth  is  begotten  of 
God,  and  knoweth  God.  He  that 
loveth  not  knoweth  not  God  ;  for  God 
is  love.  Herein  was  the  love  of  God 
manifested  in  us,  that  God  hath  sent  his 
only  begotten  Son  into  the  world,  that 
we  might  live  through  him.  Herein  is 
love,  not  that  we  loved  God,  but  that  he 
loved  us,  and  sent  his  Son  to  be  the 
propitiation  for  our  sins.  Beloved,  if 
God  so  loved  us,  we  also  ought  to  love  one 


another.  No  man  hath  beheld  God  at 
any  time  :  if  we  love  one  another,  God 
abideth  in  us,  and  his  love  is  perfected 
in  us  :  hereby  know  we  that  we  abide  in 
him,  and  he  in  us,  because  he  hath  given 
us  of  his  Spirit.  .  .  .  And  we  know  and 
have  believed  the  love  which  God  hath 
in  us.  God  is  love ;  and  he  that 
abideth  in  love  abideth  in  God,  and 
God  abideth  in  him.  Herein  is  love 
made  perfect  with  us,  that  we  may 
have  boldness  in  the  day  of  judgement ; 
because  as  he  is,  even  so  are  we  in  this 
world.  There  is  no  fear  in  love :  but 
perfect  love  casteth  out  fear,  because 
fear  hath  punishment ;  and  he  that 
feareth  is  not  made  perfect  in  love. 
We  love,  because  he  first  loved  us.  If 
a  man  say,  I  love  God,  and  hateth  his 
brother,  he  is  a  liar  :  for  he  that  loveth 
not  his  brother  whom  he  hath  seen, 
cannot  love  God  whom  he  hath  not 
seen.  And  this  commandment  have 
we  from  him,  that  he  who  loveth  God 
love  his  brother  also  "  ;  v.  i,  2  :  "  Who- 
soever believeth  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ 
is  begotten  of  God :  and  whosoever 
loveth  him  that  begat  loveth  him  also 
that  is  begotten  of  him.  Hereby  we 
know  that  we  love  the  children  of  God, 
when  we  love  God,  and  do  his  com- 
mandments." 


XXIII.  2  John.  263 

for  by  its  brevity  and  its  being  less  suitable  for  public 
reading  in  church.  At  the  same  time,  it  is  expressly 
quoted  by  Irenaeus  and  Clement  of  Alexandria,  and  is 
mentioned  in  the  Muratorian  Fragment.  It  appears  also 
to  have  been  acknowledged  by  Eusebius,  although  he 
placed  it  among  the  disputed  books.  With  regard  to 
internal  evidence,  it  has  all  the  appearance  of  being 
genuine.  Like  the  Third  Epistle  it  bears  to  be  written  by 
"  the  elder,"  a  designation  which  implies  that  the  writer 
was  a  well-known  personage  in  the  Church.  Papias  applies 
the  name  of  "  elders  "  specially  to  the  surviving  disciples 
of  the  Lord,  as  men  of  a  past  generation, — so  that  there 
was  a  certain  appropriateness  in  John  so  describing 
himself,  as  the  last  of  the  apostles.^  An  imitator  who 
wished  to  pass  for  John  would  have  made  his  claim 
in  more  distinct  terms ;  and  the  contents  of  the  Epistle 
are  such  that  no  reasonable  motive  can  be  assigned  for 
forgery. 

The  genuineness  of  this  epistle  derives  considerable 
support  also  from  its  strong  resemblance  to  the  First, 
— no  less  than  seven  of  its  thirteen  verses  having  some- 
thing parallel  in  the  other.- 

^  6  TTpea^uTepos;  cf.  Peter's  use  of  thy  children  walking  in  truth,  even  as 
the  expression  "fellow-elder"  (6  <j\iv-  "e  received  commandment  from  the 
TToeapvTepos)  as  applied  to  himself  Father  ";</.  1  John  iv.  21  :"  And  this 
(i  Pet  V  i)  Jerome  refers  to  an  commandment  have  we  from  him,  that 
opinioii  current  in  his  day  that  the  he  who  loveth  God  love  his  brother 
Second  and  Third  Epistles  were  not  also.  5:  "And  now  I  beseech  thee, 
written  by  the  Apostle  but  by  "John  lady,  not  as  though  I  wrote  to  thee  a 
the  Presbyter"  mentioned  by  Papias  new  commandment,  but  that  which  we 
in  a  passage  preserved  by  Eusebius.  h^d  from  the  beginning,  that  we  love 
But  it  is  not  at  all  clear  from  the  words  o""  another  ;  rf.  i  John  u.  7  :  Be- 
ef Papias  that  any  such  person  ever  lo^^d,  no  new  commandment  write  I 
existed,  and  the  designation  which  the  ^nto  you  but  an  old  commandment 
writer  here  applies  to  himself  could  which  ye  had  from  the  beginning  :  the 
only  have  been  used  by  a  person  of  old  commandment  is  the  word  which 
outstanding  position  in  the  Church.  ye  heard  6  :"  And  this  is  love,  that 
(See,  on  Papias,  Appendix,  p.  281.)  ^e   should   walk   after    his    command- 

2Ver.  i:   "The  elder  unto  the  elect  ^ents.      This    is    the    commandment, 

lady  and  her  children,  whom  I  love  in  e^en  as  ye  heard  from  the  beginning, 

truth;    and   not    I    only,    but    also   all  that  ye  should  walk  in  it     ;  'f-^  i^hn 

they  that  know  the  truth";  cf.  i  John  \-   3^   "^or  this  is   the   love   of    Cod 

iii.   18  :  "  My  little  children,  let  us  not  that  we  keep  his  commandments  :  and 

love  in  word,  neither  with  the  tongue;  his  commandments  are  not  grievous, 

but  in  deed  and  truth."     4  :   "  I  rejoice  7  •   "  \°'  "'^ny  deceivers  are  gone  forth 

greatly   that    I    have   found   certain    of  '"to  the  world,  even  they  that  confess 


264  New  Testament  ajtd  Its  Writers.  xxiii. 


2.    The  Readers.  « 

"  Unto  the  elect  lady  and  her  children."  It  is  a  question 
whether  these  words  are  to  be  taken  literally,  or  in  a 
figurative  sense  as  the  designation  of  a  Church  and  its 
members.  On  the  whole  the  latter  seems  the  more 
probable,  in  view  of  expressions  occurring  in  a  number 
of  the  verses.^  Such  figurative  language  need  not  surprise 
us  in  the  case  of  a  writer  so  fond  of  symbolism  as  the 
author  of  the  Apocalypse  and  the  Fourth  Gospel.^  But 
which  of  the  Churches  in  Asia  is  thus  addressed  we  have 
no  means  of  knowing. 

3.  Date  and  Place  of  Composition. 

It  was  probably  written  from  Ephesus, — subsequently 
to  the  First  Epistle. 

4.   Character  and  Contents. 

While  the  Epistle  contains  expressions  of  warm  affection 
for  the  members  of  the  Church  in  question  (whom  the 
apostle  appears  to  have  recently  visited),  its  main  object 
is    to    warn    them    against    the    insidious    and    corrupting 

not    that   Jesus    Christ  cometh    in   the  he  that    confesseth   the  Son   hath  the 

flesh.      This    is   the   deceiver   and   the  Father    also."       12:     "Having    many 

antichrist"  ;   i  John  iv.  1-3:   "Beloved,  things  to  write  unto  you,  I  would  not 

believe  not  every  spirit,  but   prove  the  write  them  with  paper  and  ink  :  but  I 

spirits,  whether  they  are  of  God:  because  hope  to  come  unto  you,  and  to  speak 

many  false  prophets  are  gone  out  into  face  to  face,  that  your  joy  may  be  ful- 

the  world.     Hereby  know  ye  the  Spirit  filled";   cf.   i  John    i.   4:    "and  these 

of  God  :    every  spirit  which  confesseth  things  we  write,   that  our  "oy  may  be 

that  Jesus  Christ  is  come  in  the  flesh  is  fulfilled." 

of  God:    and   every   spirit  which  con-  1  Vers,    i,  4,  S  (quoted  above);  10: 

fesseth  not   Jesus   is  not  of  God:  and  "If  any  one    cometh    unto  you,    and 

this    is    the    spirit    of    the    antichrist,  bringeth     not     this     teaching,    receive 

whereof  ye  have  heard  that  it  cometh  ;  him  not  into  your  house,  and  give  him 

and  now  it  is  in  the  world  already."    9:  no   greeting";   13:   "The   children   of 

"  Whosoever  goeth  onward  and  abideth  thine  elect  sister  salute  thee." 

not  in  the  teaching  of  Christ,  hath  not  -  Cf.  Peter's  use  of  a  similar  expres- 

God  :  he  that  abideth  in  the  teaching,  the  sion   with   reference,    probably,  to   the 

same  hath  both  the  Father  and  the  Son";  Church    in    Rome:    "She  that    is    in 

cf.  I  John  ii.  23 :  "Whosoever  denieth  Babylon,    elect     together     with     you, 

the  Son,  the  same  hath  not  the  Father  :  saluteth  you  "  (i  Pet.  v.  13). 


XXIII.  3  John.  265 

influence  of  certain  heretical  teacher's  who  were  going  about 
denying  the  reality  of  Christ's  humanity.^  The  apostle 
urges  an  uncompromising  opposition  to  all  such  teachers, 
in  terms  that  remind  us  of  the  story  told  by  Irenseus  on  the 
authority  of  those  who  had  received  it  from  Polycarp,  that 
finding  Cerinthus  in  a  public  bath,  the  apostle  rushed  out 
at  the  sight  of  him,  exclaiming,  "  Let  us  fly  lest  even  the 
bath  fall  on  us,  because  Cerinthus,  the  enemy  of  the  truth, 
is  within," — a  speech  that  betrays  a  lingering  of  the  spirit 
that  had  once  been  rebuked  by  his  Lord.-  On  the  other 
hand,  the  blending  of  love  with  truth  ^  in  the  earlier  part 
of  the  epistle  is  equally  characteristic  of  the  disciple 
"  whom  Jesus  loved  "  ;  and  it  finds  similar  illustration  in 
the  beautiful  story  of  "  St.  John  and  the  Robber."  * 


"  THE   THIRD   EPISTLE   OF   JOHN." 

I.  Atithoi'ship. 

If  we  admit  the  Second  Epistle  to  be  the  work  of  John, 
we  can  have  no  difficulty  in  accepting  this  also  as  his. 
The  two  epistles  have  been  aptly  termed  "  twins " ;  ^  and 

1  Ver.  7 :  "  For  many  deceivers  are  demand  the  young  man,  the  soul  of  a 
gone  forth  into  the  world,  even  they  brother."  Thereupon  the  bishop  had 
that  confess  not  that  Jesus  Christ  to  confess  that  the  young  man  had 
Cometh  in  the  flesh.  This  is  the  gone  astray  and  become  a  robber-chief, 
deceiver  and  the  antichrist. "  The   apostle  immediately  called   for  a 

2  Luke  ix.  54:  "And  when  his  horse  and  made  his  way  to  the  haunts 
disciples  James  and  John  saw  this,  of  the  robber,  who  fled  at  his  approach, 
they  said,  Lord,  wilt  thou  that  we  bid  The  apostle  pursued  and  overtook  him, 
fire  to  come  down  from  heaven,  and  and  by  his  persuasions  and  tears  in- 
consume  them?"  duced  him  to  give  up  his  evil  life  and 

3  The  word  "love"  (d7a7r?;)  occurs  return  to  his  old  home,  to  be  restored 
four  times  in  this  short  epistle,  and  its  to  the  Church. 

verb  twice  ;  "truth"  (d\r]d€i.a)  five  times.  ^  Ver.  i  :  "The  elder  unto  Gaius  the 

•»The  story  is  told  bv  Eusebius  (iii.  beloved,  whom  I  love  in  truth";  cf.  2 

33).    The  apostle  John  had  left  in  charge  Joh"  i  :  "  The  elder  unto  the  elect  lady 

of  the  local  bishop  a  promising  young  and  her  children,  whom  I  love  m  truth  ; 

man   who   was   duly  baptized   and   in-  ^^id  not  I  only,  but  also  all  they  that 

structed.     On   his  return    he  surprised  know   the   truth."     3,    4:    "For    I    re- 

the  bishop  by  asking  for  iiis  "deposit,"  joiccd  greatly,  when  brethren  came  and 

adding,  in  explanation  of  his  words,  "I  'Ji^'^^   witness   unto   thy  truth,   even  as 


266  Neiv  Testament  and  Its  Writers.  xxiii. 

the  contents  of  this  epistle  are  so  peculiar  in  their  bearing 
on  the  position  and  the  authority  of  the  apostle,  as  to 
preclude  the  idea  of  forgery. 

2.   The  Reader. 

"  Unto  Gaius  the  beloved."  The  name  Gains  occurs 
several  times  in  the  New  Testament ;  ^  but  whether  the 
receiver  of  this  letter  is  to  be  identified  with  any  of  those 
who  are  elsewhere  so  called  it  is  impossible  to  say,  the 
name  being  a  very  common  one.  He  is  addressed  as  a 
faithful  and  liberal  member  of  the  Church.-' 

3.   Date  and  Place  of  Composition. 

Like  the  Second  this  epistle  was  probably  written  from 
Ephesus, — subsequently  to  the  First. 

4.   Character  and  Contents. 

This  epistle,  like  the  Second,  gives  us  a  momentary 
glimpse  of  Church  life  in  Asia  towards  the  close  of  the 
first  century.  While  the  Second  contains  a  warning 
against  heresy,  this  relates  rather  to  the  evil  of  scJnsin.     It 


thou   walkest    in    truth.       Greater  joy  Beloved,    I    pray    that    in    all    things 

have  I  none  than  this,  to  hear  of  my  thou  mayest  prosper  and  be  in  health, 

children  walking  in  the  truth ";(/.  2  John  even   as   thy  soul    prospereth.     For    I 

4:  "  I  rejoice  greatly  that  I  have  found  rejoiced   greatly,   when   brethren   came 

certain  of  thy  children  walking  in  truth,  and  bare  witness  unto  thy  truth,  even 

even    as    we    received    commandment  as  thou  walkest  in  truth.     Greater  joy 

from  the  Father."     13:   "I  had  many  have   I  none  than  this,  to  hear  of  my 

things-  to   write   unto   thee,   but    I   am  children  walking  in  the  truth.     Beloved, 

unwilling  to  write  them  to  thee  with  ink  thou  doest  a  faithful  work  in  whatso- 

and   pen";    cf.    2   John   12:   "  Having  ever  thou  doest  toward  them  that  are 

many  things  to  write  unto  you,  I  would  brethren   and    strangers    withal  ;    who 

not  write  them  with  paper  and  ink  :  but  bare   witness    to    thy   love    before    the 

I  hope  to  come  unto  you,  and  to  speak  church  :  whom  thou  wilt  do  well  to  set 

face    to    face,    that    your  joy   may   be  forward  on   their    journey   worthily   of 

fulfilled."  God  :  because  that  for  the  sake  of  the 

1  Acts  xix.  29  ;  XX.  4  ;  Rom.  xvi,  23  ;  Name  they  went  forth,  taking  nothing 
I  Cor.  i.  14.  of  the   Gentiles.     We  therefore   ought 

2  Vers.  1-8:   "The  elder  unto  Gaius  to  welcome  such,  that  we  may  be  fellow- 
the   beloved,    whom    I   love    in    truth.  workers  with  the  truth." 


XXIII.  T^Jokn.  267 

shows  us  the  practical  difficulties  which  even  the  Apostle 
John  had  to  encounter  in  the  government  of  the  Church. 
In  Gains  (the  recipient  of  the  letter)  we  have  a  sincere 
and  charitable  Christian  whose  influence  and  example 
John  invokes  in  opposition  to  the  factious  and  intolerant 
conduct  of  an  ambitious  ecclesiastic  named  Diotrephes, 
who  had  gone  so  far  as  to  close  his  doors  on  "  the  brethren  " 
who  had  come  in  the  apostle's  name,  apparently  bearing  a 
letter  from  him — perhaps  our  Second  Epistle.^  The  aged 
head  of  the  Church  in  Asia  feels  that  it  will  be  necessary, 
the  next  time  he  visits  the  district,  to  hold  a  reckoning 
with  the  offender  for  his  malice  and  presumption.  Mean- 
while he  warns  Gains  against  being  led  astray  by  the 
example  of  Diotrephes  ;  and  in  pleasing  contrast  with  the 
latter  he  refers  to  one  Demetrius — apparently  the  bearer 
of  this  letter — who  "  hath  the  witness  of  all  men,  and  of 
the  truth  itself."  -  Finally  the  apostle  pleads  the  same 
excuse  for  his  brevity  as  he  does  in  the  case  of  the  Second 
Epistle,  viz.,  that  he  hopes  soon  to  visit  his  readers,  when 
they  "  shall  speak  face  to  face." 

1  Vers.  9,  10:  "I  wrote  somewhat  Diotrephes  in  no  remote  corner  is  able 
unto  the  church  :  but  Diotrephes,  who  for  a  time  to  withstand  an  Apostle  in 
loveth  to  have  the  preeminence  among  tlie  administration  of  his  particular 
them,  receiveth  us  not.  Therefore,  if  I  Church.  On  the  other  side,  the  calm 
come,  I  will  bring  to  remembrance  his  confidence  of  St.  John  seems  to  rest  on 
works  which  he  doeth,  prating  against  himself  more  than  on  his  official  power, 
us  with  wicked  words  :  and  not  content  His  presence  will  vindicate  his  authority, 
therewith,  neither  doth  he  himself  Once  more,  the  growth  of  the  Churches 
receive  the  brethren,  and  them  that  is  as  plainly  marked  as  their  independ- 
would  he  forbiddeth,  and  casteth  them  ence.  The  first  place  in  them  has 
out  of  the  church."  become  an  object  of  unworthy  ambition. 

2  "  Another  point  which  deserves  They  are  able,  and  as  it  appears,  for 
notice  is  the  view  which  is  given  of  the  the  most  part  willing  to  maintain 
independence    of    Christian    societies.  missionary  teachers "  (Westcott). 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

"THE   REVELATION    OF   ST.   JOHN   THE   DIVINE." 

I.  AzUhorship. 

There  is  very  strong  external  evidence  to  prove  that  this 
book  was  written  by  the  Apostle  John.  Passing  over 
some  earlier  apparent  witnesses,  we  find  unmistakable 
mention  of  it  in  the  writings  of  Justin  Martyr.  He 
expressly  refers  to  it  as  the  work  of  the  apostle,  in  the 
Dialogue  which  he  held  with  Trypho,  an  unbelieving  Jew, 
in  the  very  city  of  Ephesus  where  John  lived,  and  within 
half-a-century  after  his  death.  Equally  clear  and  explicit 
is  the  testimony  of  Irenaeus,  who,  as  we  have  seen,  was  a 
disciple  of  Polycarp,  the  disciple  of  John.  In  one  passage 
Irenaeus  even  gives  as  his  authority  for  preferring  666  to 
6\6  as  "the  number  of  the  beast,"  the  testimony  of  those 
who  had  seen  John  face  to  face.^  The  book  is  twice  men- 
tioned in  the  Canon  of  the  Muratorian  Fragment,  once  in 
such  a  way  as  to  imply  that  it  was  publicly  read  in  church  ; 
it  was  one  of  the  books  on  which  Melito,  Bishop  of  Sardis, 
wrote  a  commentary  (about  170  A.D.) ;  and  it  is  expressly 
quoted  as  "the  Scripture"  in  the  letter  sent  by  the  per- 
secuted Christians  of  Vienne  and  Lyons  to  their  brethren 
in  Asia  Minor  (177  A.D.). 

But  soon  after  the  middle  of  the  second  century  the 
book  began  to  be  regarded  with  suspicion,  owing  to  the 
use  made  of  it  by  a  heretical  party  called  the  Montanists, 
who    indulged    in     extravagant     notions    regarding    the 

1  xiii.    18:    "Here    is  wisdom.     He  Six  hundred  and  sixty  and  six."    "Some 

that  hath  understanding,  let  him  count  ancient   authorities    read    six  hundred 

the  number  of  the  beast;  for  it  is  the  and  sixteen,"  Marginal  Note,  R.V. 
dumber  of  a  man  :  and  his  number  is 


XXIV.  The  Revelation  of  St.  John.  269 

"thousand  years"  of  Christ's  reign  with  His  saints  which 
was  to  take  place  before  the  end  of  the  world.^  The  feeling 
of  distrust  was  strengthened  by  observing  what  a  marked 
difference  there  was  in  the  language  and  style  of  the 
Revelation  as  compared  with  the  other  works  ascribed  to 
John ;  and  a  considerable  amount  of  controversy  took 
place  on  the  subject.  Ultimately,  however,  the  objections 
were  overruled,  and  the  book  obtained  general  acceptance 
in  the  Church. 

In  modern  times  the  controversy  has  been  renewed ; 
and  objectors  are  still  disposed  to  insist,  as  of  old,  on  the 
internal  marks  of  a  different  authorship  from  that  of  the 
fourth  Gospel.2  In  particular,  it  is  pointed  out  that,  where- 
as the  Gospel  is  written  in  good  Greek,  the  Revelation  is 
full  of  grammatical  mistakes  and  eccentricities  ;  so  that 
while  there  is  scarcely  anything  in  the  former  to  show 
that  the  writer  was  other  than  a  Greek,  the  latter  would 
give  us  the  impression  of  its  having  been  written  by  a 
person  who  first  thought  in  Hebrew  and  had  afterwards 
to  turn  his  thoughts  into  a  language  with  which  he  was 
imperfectly  acquainted. 

To  meet  this  objection  the  following  considerations  may 
be  adduced  : — 

(i)  The  difference  in  the  nature  and  contents  of  the 
two  books ;  the  one  being  mainly  narrative  or  colloquial, 
the  other  being  formed  on  the  model  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment prophets. 

(2)  The  possible  effect  on  the  apostle  of  many  years' 
residence  in  Ephesus  (if  we  accept  the  earlier  date  assigned 
to  the  Apocalypse)  in  the  way  of  improving  his  knowledge 
of  Greek. 

(3)  The  unfavourable  circumstances  under  which  he 
appears  to  have  written  the  Apocalypse,  as  an  exile  in 
Patmos  ;  and  the  possible  employment  of  a  skilled  Greek 
amanuensis  in  the  composition  of  his  Gospel.^ 

1  Chap.  XX.  be   the  work  of  the  apostle,  while   re- 

-  The    Tubingen    school,     however,       jecting  the  Fourtii  Gospel, 
have  generally  admitted  Revelation  to  •*  "Every  new  investigation  diminishes 


2  70 


New  Testanunt  and  Its  Writers. 


XXIV. 


On  the  other  hand,  amid  all  the  diversity  between  the 
two  books  both  in  ideas  and  in  language,  there  are  not 
wanting  some  important  features  of  resemblance,  betokening 
an  identity  of  authorship. 

(i)  The  name  "Lamb"  is  only  applied  to  the  Saviour 
in  the  Fourth  Gospel  and  in  the  Revelation,  although  it 
is  indirectly  referred  to  in  i  Peter  and  the  Book  of  Acts.^ 
In  like  manner  the  name  "  Word  "  is  only  appHed  to  the 
Saviour  in  the  Gospel  of  John,  in  the  First  Epistle  of  John, 
and  in  the  Revelation. ^ 


the  amount  and  significance  of  the 
difference  on  the  one  hand,  and  on  the 
other  renders  it  more  and  more  clear 
that  its  explanation  is  to  be  sought  in 
the  different  requirements  of  the  well- 
marked  types  of  composition  and  the 
divergent  mental  condition  of  the  writer. 
The  evangelist,  dealing  freely  with  his 
material,  takes  pains  to  write  better 
Greek  than  was  customary  with  him  ; 
the  seer  is  overwhelmed  with  the  visions 
crowding  upon  him,  and  finds  no  other 
speech  fit  for  their  expression  than  that 
of  the  old  prophets,  and  therefore 
rightly  yields  himself  to  a  prophetic, 
antique,  Ezekiel-like  Hebraizing  form 
of  speech"  (Ebrard).  Schaff-Herzog 
Encvclopcedia. 

1  John  i.  29 :  "  Behold,  the  Lamb  of 
God,  which  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the 
world!"  36:  "And  he  looked  upon 
Jesus  as  he  walked,  and  saith,  Behold, 
the  Lamb  of  God  !  "  Rev.  v.  6-13,  &c.  : 
"  And  I  saw  in  the  midst  of  the  throne 
and  of  the  four  living  creatures,  and  in 
the  midst  of  the  elders,  a  Lamb  standing, 
as  though  it  had  been  slain,  having  seven 
horns,  and  seven  eyes,  which  are  the 
seven  Spirits  of  God,  sent  forth  into  all 
the  earth.  And  he  came,  and  he  taketh 
it  out  of  the  right  hand  of  him  that  sat 
on  the  throne.  And  when  he  had  taken 
the  book,  the  four  living  creatures  and 
the  four  and  twenty  elders  fell  down 
before  the  Lamb,  having  each  one  a 
harp,  and  golden  bowls  full  of  incense, 
which  are  the  prayers  of  the  saints. 
And  they  sing  a  new  song,  saying, 
Worthy  art  thou  to  take  the  book,  and 
to  open  the  seals  thereof :  for  thou  wast 
slain,  and  didst  purchase  unto  God 
with  thy  blood  men  of  every  tribe,  and 
tongue,  and  people,  and  nation,  and 
madest  them  to    be  unto  our  God   a 


kingdom  and  priests ;  and  they  reign 
upon  the  earth.  And  I  saw,  and  I 
heard  a  voice  of  many  angels  round 
about  the  throne  and  the  living  creatures 
and  the  elders ;  and  the  number  of  them 
was  ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand, 
and  thousands  of  thousands ;  saying 
with  a  great  voice.  Worthy  is  the  Lamb 
that  hath  been  slain  to  receive  the  power, 
and  riches,  and  wisdom,  and  might, 
and  honour,  and  glory,  and  blessing. 
And  every  created  thing  which  is  in  the 
heaven,  and  on  the  earth,  and  under 
the  earth,  and  on  the  sea,  and  all  things 
that  are  in  them,  heard  I  saying.  Unto 
him  that  sitteth  on  the  throne,  and  unto 
the  Lamb,  be  the  blessing,  and  the 
honour,  and  the  glory,  and  the  dominion, 
for  ever  and  ever  "  ;  cf.  i  Pet.  i.  18,  19  : 
"knowing  that  ye  were  redeemed,  not 
with  corruptible  things,  with  silver  or 
gold,  from  your  vain  manner  of  life 
handed  down  from  your  fathers  ;  but 
with  precious  blood,  as  of  a  lamb  with- 
out blemish  and  without  spot,  even  the 
blood  of  Christ";  Acts  viii.  32,  35: 
"  Now  the  place  of  the  scripture  which 
he  was  reading  was  this.  He  was  led  as 
a  sheep  to  the  slaughter ;  And  as  a  lamb 
before  his  shearer  is  dumb.  So  he  openeth 
not  his  mouth  :  .  .  .  And  Philip  opened 
his  mouth,  and  beginning  from  this 
scripture,  preached  unto  him  Jesus." 

2  John  i.  I,  &c.  :  "In  the  beginning 
was  the  Word,  and  the  Word  was  with 
God,  and  the  word  was  God"  ;  i  John 
i.  I  :  "  That  which  was  from  the  be- 
ginning, that  which  we  have  heard, 
that  which  we  have  seen  with  our  eyes, 
that  which  we  beheld,  and  our  hands 
handled,  concerning  the  Word  of  life"  ; 
Rev.  xix.  13:  "And  he  is  arrayed  in  a 
garment  sprinkled  with  blood  :  and  his 
name  is  called  The  Word  of  God." 


XXIV. 


The  Revelation  of  St.  John. 


271 


(2)  Some  of  John's  favourite  expressions,  such  as,  "  he 
that  overcometh,"  "  witness "  (noun  or  verb),  "  keep  (my) 
word,"  are  of  frequent  occurrence  in  the  Revelation. 

(3)  In  an  expression  in  the  first  chapter  of  Revelation 
we  seem  to  have  an  echo  of  the  passage  in  the  Fourth 
Gospel  where  alone  the  piercing  of  our  Lord  with  the 
spear  is  recorded,  and  where  there  is  the  same  quotation 
of  Zechariah's  prophecy — in  the  same  unusual  form.^ 

(4)  The  Greek  word  meaning  "  true "  or  "  real,"  in 
opposition  to  what  is  false  or  spurious,  occurs  nine  times 
in  St.  John's  Gospel,  four  times  in  i  John,  and  ten  times 
in  the  Revelation  ;  but  only  five  times  in  all  the  rest  of 
the  New  Testament.^ 

(5)  The  Revelation,  like  the  fourth  Gospel,  recognises 
our  Lord's  pre-eminence  and  His  title  to  divine  honours.^ 


1  Rev.  i.  7  :  "Behold,  he  cometh  with 
the  clouds  ;  and  every  eye  shall  see  him, 
and  they  which  pierced  him  ;  and  all 
the  tribes  of  the  earth  shall  mourn  over 
him.  Even  so.  Amen";  John  xix. 
34-37 :  ' '  howbeit  one  of  the  soldiers  with 
a  spear  pierced  his  side,  and  straightway 
there  came  out  blood  and  water.  And 
he  that  hath  seen  hath  borne  witness, 
and  his  witness  is  true  :  and  he  knoweth 
that  he  saith  true,  that  ye  also  may 
believe.  For  these  things  came  to  pass, 
that  the  scripture  might  be  fulfilled,  A 
bone  of  him  shall  not  be  broken.  And 
again  another  scripture  saith,  They 
shall  look  on  him  whom  they  pierced  "  ; 
Zech.  xii.  10:  "  And  I  will  pour  upon 
the  house  of  David,  and  upon  the  in- 
habitants of  Jerusalem,  the  spirit  of 
grace  and  of  supplications :  and  they 
shall  look  upon  me  whom  they  have 
pierced,  and  they  shall  mourn  for  him, 
as  one  mourneth  for  his  only  son,  and 
shall  be  in  bitterness  for  him,  as  one  that 
is  in  bitterness  for  his  firstborn." 

-  a.\-r]Qi.vb%.  Rev.  iii.  7;  "he  that  is 
true  "  ;  14  :  •'  the  faithful  and  true 
witness";  vi.  10:  "O  Master,  the  holy 
and  true"  ;  xv.  3  :  "  righteous  and  true 
are  thy  ways "  ;  xvi.  7 :  "  true  and 
righteous  are  thy  judgements  "  ;  xix.  9  : 
"these  are  true  words  of  God";  11: 
"  called  Faithful  and  True  "  ;  xxi.  5  and 
xxii.  6:  "these  words  are  faithful  and 
true." 

*  i.   5,   8,   17,    18:    "and  from  Jesus 


Christ,  who  is  the  faithful  witness,  the 
firstborn  of  the  dead,  and  the  ruler  of 
the  kings  of  the  earth.  ...  I  am  the 
Alpha  and  the  Omega,  saith  the  Lord 
God,  which  is  and  which  was  and  which 
is  to  come,  the  Almighty.  .  .  .  And 
when  I  saw  him,  I  fell  at  his  feet  as  one 
dead.  And  he  laid  his  right  hand  upon 
me,  saying,  Fear  not ;  I  am  the  first 
and  the  last,  and  the  Living  one  ;  and 
I  was  dead,  and  behold,  I  am  alive  for 
evermore,  and  I  have  the  keys  of  death 
and  of  Hades."  iii.  14,  21  :  "And  to 
the  angel  of  the  church  in  Laodicea 
write  ;  These  things  saith  the  Amen, 
the  faithful  and  true  witness,  the  be- 
ginning of  the  creation  of  God  :  .  .  . 
He  that  overcometh,  I  will  give  to  him 
to  sit  down  with  me  in  my  throne,  as  I 
also  overcame,  and  sat  down  with  my 
Father  in  his  throne"  ;  v.  12,  13  :  "  say- 
ing with  a  great  voice.  Worthy  is  the 
Lamb  that  hath  been  slain  to  receive 
the  power,  and  riches,  and  wisdom,  and 
might,  and  honour,  and  glory,  and 
blessing.  And  every  created  thing 
which  is  in  the  heaven,  and  on  the  earth, 
and  under  the  earth,  and  on  the  sea, 
and  all  things  that  are  in  them,  heard  I 
saying,  Unto  him  that  sitteth  on  the 
throne,  and  unto  the  Lamb,  be  the  bless- 
ing, and  the  honour,  and  the  glory,  and 
the  dominion,  for  ever  and  ever"  ;  xix. 
16  :  "  And  he  hath  on  his  garment  and 
on  his  thigh  a  name  written,  KING  OK 

KINGS,    AND    LORD    OK    LORDS ";    .\.\ii. 


272  New  Testament  and  Its  Writers.  xxiv. 

(6)  A  still  stronger  feature  of  resemblance  may  be 
seen  in  the  similarity  of  the  representations  which  the 
two  books  give  of  the  Saviour's  triumph  as  resulting  from 
successive  conflicts  marked  by  apparent  and  temporary 
defeat.  In  these  conflicts  the  Gentiles,  centred  in  "  Baby- 
lon," take  the  place  held  by  the  unbelieving  Jews  in  the 
Gospel ;  and  the  "  disciples "  of  the  earlier  days  are 
represented  by  the  Church,  or  "  the  bride  "  (of  Christ). 

It  has  been  objected  that  the  Revelation,  unlike  the 
other  writings  of  John,  gives  the  name  of  its  avowed 
author.^  But  this  is  sufficiently  accounted  for  by  the 
prophetical  character  of  the  book.  It  was  the  practice  of 
the  prophets  of  the  Old  Testament,  although  not  of  the 
historians,  to  mention  their  names  in  their  writings. 

2.    The  Readers. 
It  was  evidently  meant  for  the  Church  at  large — repre- 
sented by  "  the  seven  Churches  which  are  in  Asia."  ^ 

3.  Date  and  Place  of  Composition. 

From  one  of  the  opening  verses  we  learn  that  the 
revelation  was  made  to  John  when  he  "  was  in  the  isle 
that  is  called  Patmos  "  (in  the  .^gean  Sea),  "  for  the  word 
of  God  and  the  testimony  of  Jesus,"  and  it  would  appear 
to   have  been   committed   to  writing  in  the  island  imme- 


12,  13:  "Behold,  I  come  quickly;  and  John  am  he  that  heard  and  saw  these 

my  reward  is  with  me,  to  render  to  each  things." 

man  according  as  his  work  is.     I  am  "^  '\.  \\  "  John  to  the  seven  churches 

the  Alpha  and  the  Omega,  the  first  and  which  are  in  Asia"  ;  ver.  11 :  "What  thou 

the  last,  the  beginning  and  the  end."  seest,   write  in  a  book,  and  send  it  to 

1  i.    i:    "The    Revelation    of    Jesus  the  seven  churches  ;  unto  Ephesus,  and 

Christ,  which   God  gave  him  to  shew  unto  Smyrna,  and  unto  Pergamum,  and 

unto  his  servants,  even  the  things  which  unto   Thyatira,    and  unto   Sardis,   and 

must  shortly  come  to  pass  :  and  he  sent  unto  Philadelphia,  and  unto  Laodicea." 

and  signified  it  by  his  angel  unto  his  "The  scene  lies  wholly  in  the  Eastern 

servant  John"  ;  ver.  4:    "John  to  the  Provinces  and  especially  in  Asia  among 

seven    churches   which   are   in    Asia "  ;  the   seven  churches  ;    for   Rome   is   on 

ver.    9:    "I   John,   your    brother    and  the  extreme  horizon,  and  is  conceived 

partaker  with  you  in  the  tribulation  and  only  as   the   distant    metropolis   where 

kingdom   and   patience    which    are    in  the     martyrs    are    sent    to    suffer    the 

Jesus,    was   in   the   isle   that    is    called  death  decreed  against  them." — Ramsay, 

Patmos,  for  the  word  of  God  and  the  The  Church  in  the  Roman  Empire,  p. 

testimony  of  Jesus  "  ;  xxii.  8:  "And  I  295. 


XXIV.  The  Revelation  of  St.  John.  273 

diately  after  it  was  received.^  As  to  the  date  of  the 
apostle's  banishment  to  Patmos,  Irenreus  expressly 
mentions  that  the  vision  was  seen  almost  within  his  own 
generation  at  the  end  of  the  reign  of  Domitian  (Emperor 
81-96  A.D.).  There  is  nothing  in  any  earlier  writer  to 
throw  discredit  on  this  statement;  and  there  are  several 
things  in  the  book  itself  which  seem  to  point  to  a  late 
date  of  composition,  e.g.,  the  important  and  intimate 
relation  in  which  John  appears  to  stand  to  the  principal 
Churches  of  Asia  Minor,  the  signs  of  marked  spiritual 
declension  in  several  of  these  Churches,  the  use  of  the 
expression  "  the  Lord's  day  "  instead  of  the  earlier  "  first 
day  of  the  week,"  and  of  the  phrase  "  synagogue  of  Satan  " 
which  would  scarcely  have  been  employed  by  a  Christian 
writer  previous  to  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem. 2 

At  the  same  time,  there  are  some  observations  by 
writers  later  than  Irenaeus  that  favour  an  earlier  date. 
Tertullian  tells  us  that  at  Rome  the  Apostle  John  was 
plunged  in  burning  oil  without  sustaining  any  injury, 
and  that  he  was  afterwards  banished  to  an  island.  It  is 
in  connection  with  the  martyrdom  of  Peter  and  Paul 
that  he   makes   the   remark,  which   suggests  the  close   of 

1  i.  9;  11:  "  What  thou  seest,  write  I  come  to  thee,  and  will  move  thy  candle- 
in  a  book,  and  send  it  to  the  seven  stickout  of  its  place,  except  thou  repent"; 
churches  "  ;  x.  4  :  "  And  when  the  seven  iii.  i,  2:  "  And  to  the  angel  of  the  church 
thunders  uttered  their  voices,  I  was  in  Sardis  write ;  These  things  saith  he 
about  to  write  :  and  I  heard  a  voice  that  hath  the  seven  Spirits  of  God,  and 
from  heaven  saying,  Seal  up  the  things  the  seven  stars  :  I  know  thy  works,  that 
which  the  seven  thunders  uttered,  and  thou  hast  a  name  that  thou  livest,  and 
write  them  not";  xiv.  13:  "And  I  thou  art  dead.  Be  thou  watchful,  and 
heard  a  voice  from  heaven  saying,  stablish  the  things  that  remain,  which 
Write,  Blessed  are  the  dead  which  die  were  ready  to  die  :  for  I  have  found  no 
in  the  Lord  from  henceforth  :  yea,  saith  works  of  thine  fulfilled  before  my  God  "  ; 
the  Spirit,  that  they  may  rest  from  their  i.  10  :  "I  was  in  the  Spirit  on  the  Lord's 
labours  ;  for  their  works  follow  with  day  (eV  tt;  KvpLaKrj  i]/x^pa) "  ;  ii.  9 
them";  xix.  9:  "And  he  saith  unto  (Smyrna) :'"  I  know  thy  tribulation,  and 
me,  Write,  Blessed  are  they  which  are  thy  poverty  (but  thou  art  rich),  and  the 
bidden  to  the  marriage  supper  of  the  blasphemy  of  them  which  say  they  are 
Lamb";  xxi.  5:  "  And  he  that  sitteth  Jews,  and  they  are  not,  but  are  a 
on  the  throne  said.  Behold,  I  make  all  synagogue  of  Satan";  iii.  9  (Phila- 
things  new.  And  he  saith,  Write:  for  delphia)  :  "Behold,  I  give  of  the  syna- 
these  words  are  faithful  and  true."  gogue  of  Satan,  of  them  which  say  they 

-  ii.    4,  5   (Ephesus):    "But   I    have  are  Jews,  and  they  are  not,  but  do  lie'; 

this  against  thee,  that  thou  didst  leave  behold,  I  will  make  them  to  come  and 

thy   first    love.       Remember    therefore  worship   before  thy  feet,   and  to  know 

from    whence     thou     art     fallen,     and  that  I  have  loved  th(^e." 
repent,  and  do  the  first  works;  or  else 


2  74  New  Testament  and  Its  Writers.  xxiv. 

Nero's  reign  as  the  time  referred  to ;  and  accordingly 
we  find  Jerome  (about  the  end  of  the  fourth  century) 
making  an  explicit  statement  to  that  effect.  It  is  quite 
possible  Irenasus  may  have  made  a  mistake,  occasioned 
perhaps  by  the  frequency  of  banishment  in  the  reign  of 
Domitian  ;  and  this  is  the  view  taken  by  some  critics  at 
the  present  day,  who  can  only  account  for  the  style  and 
character  of  the  book  on  the  supposition  that  it  was  written 
a  considerable  time  before  the  Gospel.  The  key  to  the 
interpretation  of  the  book,  they  conceive,  is  to  be  found  in 
the  identification  of  the  reigning  king  in  the  seventeenth 
chapter  with  the  Emperor  Galba,  the  successor  of  Nero.^ 
The  latter  is  regarded  as  the  head  of  the  beast  referred  to 
in  the  thirteenth  chapter,'  the  healing  of  its  wound  symbol- 
ising the  restoration  of  Nero,  who  was  then  supposed  to  be 
still  alive  and  in  hiding  in  the  East.  Confirmation  of  this 
is  found  in  other  passages  '^  and  in  the  symbolical  "  number 
of  the  beast"  ("the  number  of  a  man  .  .  .  Six  hundred 
and  sixty  and  six  "),  which  answers  in  Hebrew  letters  to 
the  name  "  Neron  Cjesar."  ^  But  it  would  be  more  natural 
to  reckon  the  number  in  Greek  letters  (as  Irenaeus  did) ; 
and  in  either  case  a  correspondence  to  it  can  be  made  out 
in  the  case  of  a  great  many  other  prominent  names. 
This  weakens  very  much  the  force  of  the  argument,  for 
"  we  cannot  infer  much  from  the  fact  that  a  key  fits  the  lock, 
if  it  is  a  lock  in  which  almost  any  key  will  turn." 

Whatever  interpretation  we  may  give  to  the  "  number 
of  the  beast,"  there  is  now  a  growing  conviction  that  the 
theory  which  dates  the  composition  of  the  book  before  the 


1  xvii.  lo  :  "  and  they  are  seven  to  come  up  out  of  the  abyss,  and  to  go 
kings  ;  the  five  are  fallen,  the  one  is,  into  perdition.  And  they  that  dwell 
the  other  is  not  yet  come  ;  and  when  he  on  the  earth  shall  wonder,  they  whose 
Cometh,  he  must  continue  a  little  while."  name  hath  not  been  written  in  the  book 

2  xiii.  3:  "And  I  saw  one  of  his  of  life  from  the  foundation  of  the  world, 
heads  as  though  it  had  been  smitten  when  they  behold  the  beast,  how  that 
unto  death;  and  his  death-stroke  was  he  was,  and  is  not,  and  shall  come.  .  .  . 
healed  :  and  the  whole  earth  wondered  And  the  beast  that  was,  and  is  not,  is 
after  the  beast."  himself  also   an  eighth,   and   is  of  the 

'^  xvii.  8,   11:   "The  beast  that  thou  seven;  and  he  goeth  into  perdition." 

sawest  was,   and   is  not ;  and  is  about  ^  xiii.  18. 


XXIV. 


The  Revelation  of  St.  John. 


275 


destruction  of  Jerusalem  must  be  abandoned,^  and  that  the 
persecution  referred  to  is  not  that  which  took  place  at 
Rome  in  the  reign  of  Nero,  but  the  sufferings  inflicted  on 
Christians  at  a  later  date,  in  the  provinces,  especially  in 
Asia  Minor,  when  they  refused  to  worship  the  Emperor 
and  Roma,-  In  support  of  this  conclusion  the  following 
considerations  may  be  adduced.  (i)"The  absolute  and 
irreconcilable  opposition  between  the  Church  and  the 
Empire  "  which  distinguishes  this  book  from  all  the  other 
writings  of  the  New  Testament,  even  the  latest  of  them.^ 
(2)  The  description  of  Rome  as  "  the  great  harlot  that  sitteth 
upon  many  waters,  with  whom  the  kings  of  the  earth 
committed  fornication,  .  .  .  the  woman  drunken  with  the 
blood  of  the  saints,  and  with  the  blood  of  the  martyrs  of 
Jesus," — which  finds  its  explanation  in  the  fact  that  the 
worship  of  Roma  had  spread  over  the  Empire,  and  was 
now  the  most  formidable  rival  that  Christianity  had  to 
contend  with."*  {3)  The  reference  to  Pergamum  as  the 
place  "where  Satan's  throne  is,  .  .  .  where  Satan  dwelleth" — 


1  ' '  The  foundation  of  the  Apocalypse 
is  indisputably  the  destruction  of  the 
earthly  Jerusalem,  and  the  prospect 
thereby  for  the  first  time  opened  up  of  its 
future  ideal  restoration." — Mommsen, 
The  Provinces  of  the  Roman  Empire, 
Vol.  ii.  p.  197. 

2  "  It  is  more  important,  however,  to 
oppose  the  current  conception,  accord- 
ing to  which  the  polemic  is  directed 
against  the  Neronian  persecution  of  the 
Christians  and  the  siege  or  the  destruc- 
tion of  Jerusalem,  whereas  it  is  pointed 
against  the  Roman  provincial  govern- 
ment generally,  and  in  particular 
against  the  worship  of  the  emperors." 
— Mommsen,  ibid.  p.  198. 

3  "  There  is  no  wish  for  reconciliation 
with  the  persecuting  power,  only  for 
vengeance  on  it  (vi.  9-11  ;  ix.  4);  there 
is  no  thought  of  the  possibility  of  bring- 
ing the  State  to  a  milder  policy,  by 
convincing  it  of  the  harmlessness  of 
Christianity." — Ramsay,  The  Churchin 
the  Roman  Empire,  p.  297. 

*  xvii.  1-6.  "  The  worship  thus  intro- 
duced became  a  real  Antichrist,  that  is 
to  say,  a  world-religion  entering  into 
real  rivalry  with  the  Christian  religion. 
It  had  not  been  possible  to  get  heathen 


nations  to  unite  in  the  worship  of  any 
of  the  elder  divinities.  .  .  .  Still  more 
had  the  difficulty  been  felt  of  uniting 
different  provinces  in  common  worship. 
But  here  was  a  worship  which  found 
enthusiastic  adherents  all  over  the 
Roman  world.  And  it  was  an  ag- 
gressive and  intolerant  religion.  Let 
men  worship  other  gods  or  not  as  they 
pleased  ;  but,  if  they  refused  to  offer 
homage  to  Rome  and  the  emperors, 
they  were  not  merely  irreligious  persons, 
but  bad  citizens  who  deserved  to  be 
punished  by  the  magistrates  as  dis- 
affected persons,  and  as  such  to  be 
hated  by  all  who  valued  the  established 
order.  Accordingly  at  the  annual 
meetings  of  the  provincial  koiv6.  there 
was  almost  always  an  outbreak  of  per- 
secuting zeal  against  dissenters  from 
the  imperial  cult.  It  was  at  one  such 
that  Polycarp  suffered  ;  at  another  that 
the  martyrs  of  Lyons  were  put  to  death  ; 
and  I  believe  that,  if  we  had  the  full 
history  of  the  Asiatic  martyrdoms  of 
the  second  century,  we  should  find  that 
all  took  place  in  conne.xion  with  these 
annual  meetings.'' — Salmon's  ItUroduc- 
tion,  5th  edition,  p.  241. 


276  New  Testament  aitd  Its  Writers.  xxiv. 

that  city  having  been  the  first  place  in  Asia  to  possess  a 
temple  in  honour  of  the  Emperor  {Augusteujii),  and  having 
been  the  scene  of  a  Christian  martyrdom,  apparently  many 
years  before  the  Apocalypse  was  written,  "  even  in  the 
days  of  Antipas  my  witness,  my  faithful  one,  who  was 
killed  among  you."  ^  (4)  The  nature  of  the  death  suffered 
by  the  martyrs  :  "  and  I  saw  the  souls  of  them  that  had 
been  beheaded  for  the  testimony  of  Jesus,  and  for  the  word 
of  God,  and  such  as  worshipped  not  the  beast,  neither  his 
image,  and  received  not  the  mark  upon  their  forehead  and 
upon  their  hand  "  ^ — as  beheading  was  a  common  form 
of  punishment  with  proconsuls,  but  not  in  use  at  Rome 
during  the  Neronic  persecution. 

As  to  the  precise  date  which,  according  to  this  view, 
is  to  be  assigned  to  the  composition  of  the  book,  there  is 
room  for  difference  of  opinion.  Mommsen  argues  for  the 
later  years  of  Vespasian  (75-80  A.D.)  chiefly  on  account  of 
the  interpretation  which  he  gives  to  certain  passages,  as 
referring  to  the  expectation  of  the  later  pseudo-Nero's 
return  with  the  help  of  the  Parthians.^  Apart  from  this 
there  seems  to  be  no  good  reason  why  we  should  not 
accept  the  statement  of  Irenaeus,  already  referred  to,  that 
the  Revelation  came  to  John  in  the  closing  years  of 
Domitian,  whose  name  is  traditionally  associated  with 
persecution  of  the  Christians  (of  which  we  have  some 
traces  in  the  writings  of  Dion  Cassius  and  Suetonius),  and 

1  ii.  13.  states  standing  side  by  side,  and  indeed 

2  XX.  4.  the  only  ones  in  existence,  dominated 
•J  xvi.    12:     "And  the   sixth  poured        the  whole  Roman  East,  particularly  the 

out  his  bowl  upon  the  great  river,  the  frontier  provinces.  It  meets  us  pal- 
river  Euphrates  ;  and  the  water  thereof  pably  in  the  Apocalypse  of  John,  in 
was  dried  up,  that  the  way  might  be  which  there  is  a  juxtaposition  as  well  of 
made  ready  for  the  kings  that  come  the  rider  on  the  white  horse  with  the 
from  the  sunrising";  xvii.  lo  :  "and  bow,  and  of  the  rider  on  the  red  horse 
they  are  seven  kings  ;  the  five  are  fallen,  with  the  sword  (vi.  2,  3)  as  of  the 
the  one  is,  the  other  is  not  yet  come  ;  Megistanes  and  the  Chiliarchs  (vi.  15, 
and  when  he  cometh,  he  must  continue  cf.  xviii.  23,  xix.  18).  The  closing  cata- 
a  little  while."  In  the  interpretation  strophe,  too,  is  conceived  as  a  sub- 
of  the  latter  verse  Mommsen  sets  aside  duing  of  the  Romans  by  the  Parthians 
Galba  as  well  as  Otho  and  Vitellius,  bringing  back  the  emperor  Nero  (ix.  14, 
and  makes  Vespasian  to  be  the  sixth  xvi.  12)  and  Armageddon,  whatever 
king,  leaving  the  seventh  undefined.  may  be  meant  by  it,  as  the  rendezvous 
The  conception  that  the  Roman  and  of  the  Orientals  for  the  collective  attack 
the  Parthian   empires   were  two   great  on  the  West. " — Mommsen,  zi?/^.  p.  i. 


XXIV.  The  Revelation  of  St.  John.  277 

who  took  delight  in  the  homage  paid  to  him  as  emperor, 
and  in  the  title  of  donnnus  et  dens  which  had  already  been 
claimed  by  his  predecessor  Caligula.^ 

4.   Character  and  Contents. 

The  Revelation  or  Apocalypse  ^  has  many  of  the 
characteristics  of  the  Book  of  Daniel.  Both  books  consist 
largely  of  prophecy  couched  in  the  language  of  symbolism. 
This  was  a  mode  of  expression  frequently  adopted  by 
Jewish  writers  towards  the  close  of  the  Old  Testament 
dispensation,  when,  owing  to  foreign  oppression,  it  would 
have  been  dangerous  to  speak  plainly  in  matters  affecting 
the  national  interests.^ 

The  central  theme  is  the  second  coming  of  Christ,  in  a 
magnificent  setting  of  imagery — designed  to  represent  the 
great  struggles  and  events  that  are  to  precede  the  final 
consummation. 

"  After  the  Prologue,  which  occupies  the  first  eight 
verses,  there  follow  seven  sections — 

1.  The  letters  to  the  Seven  Churches  of  Asia 
(i.9 — iii.22). 

2.  The  Seven  Seals  (iv. — vii.). 

3.  The  Seven  Trumpets  (viii. — xi.). 

4.  The  Seven  Mystic  Figures — The  Sun-clothed  Woman ; 
the  Red  Dragon  ;  the  Man-child  ;  the  Wild  Beast  from  the 
Sea ;  the  Wild  Beast  from  the  Land  ;  the  Lamb  on 
Mount  Sion  ;  the  Son  of  Man  on  the  Cloud  (xii. — xiv.). 

5.  The  Seven  Vials  (xv. — xvi.). 

6.  The  Doom  of  the  Foes  of  Christ  (xvii. — xx.). 

7.  The  Blessed  Consummation  (xxi. — xxii.  7).  The 
Epilogue  (xxii.  8-21)."^ 

1  Professor   Ramsay   concludes   that  some  one  or  more   of  them  ;   but  this 

the   book    cannot    have    been    written  writer    treated    the    material    with    a 

before  90  A.D.,  but  Dr  Salmon   dates  mastery    and   freedom   that   made  his 

it  a  few  years  earlier.  work  in  its  entirety   a  Christian  docu- 

-  'ATTOKaXK^tts^ Revelation    (literally  ment,  however  strong  are  the  traces  of 

"  uncovering  ").  the  older  form  in  parts  of  it." — Ramsay, 

3  "  It    is    the   work   of    a    Christian  ibid.  \).  2<)g. 

writer  who   was  familiar   with  Jewish  •*The  above  summary  is  taken  from 

Apocalypses,   and  adapted  to   his  own  Vwxvav's  Messages  of  the  Books,  ^.  s^o. 
purposes   much  that  was  contained  in 


2  78  New  Testament  and  Its  Writers.  xxiv. 

The  unity  of  the  book  is  one  of  its  most  striking  features  ; 
and  the  attempts  which  have  recently  been  made  by  some 
critics  to  assign  it  to  several  different  authors  have  not  been 
attended  with  success.^ 

It  must  be  acknowledged  that  the  interpretation  of  the 
Revelation  in  detail  is  still,  to  a  great  extent,  shrouded  in 
mystery.  Even  those  who  feel  assured  that  Nero  is  the 
man  represented  by  the  number  of  "  the  beast,"  and  that 
the  prophecy  was  delivered  before  the  complete  destruction 
of  Jerusalem,  find  themselves  beset  with  insuperable  diffi- 
culties when  they  come  to  deal  with  certain  portions  of  the 
book;  while  in  other  passages  their  theory  would  seem  to 
imply  that  some  of  the  predictions  of  the  Seer  were  very 
soon  falsified  by  events.  This  is  a  supposition  which  it  is 
almost  as  difficult  to  reconcile  with  the  high  estimation  in 
which  the  Apocalypse  continued  to  be  held  by  the  early 
Church,  as  with  its  divine  inspiration. 

The  safest  and  probably  the  truest  interpretation  of  the 
book  is  to  regard  it  as  a  symbolic  representation  of  great 
principles  rather  than  as  a  collection  of  definite  predictions. 
In  other  words,  it  is  intended  for  the  edification  and  com- 
fort of  Christ's  people,  not  to  give  detailed  information 
regarding  the  future  to  those  who  are  clever  enough  to 
solve  its  enigmas.  "  Here,  if  anywhere,  faith  and  love  are 
the  key  to  knowledge,  not  knowledge  the  key  to  faith  and 
love.  It  is  in  the  very  spirit  of  the  book,  not  in  a  spirit 
hard  or  narrow  or  unsympathetic,  that  it  closes  with  the 
words  'the  grace  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  be  with  the 
saints.' "  ^ 

1  Vischer  has  attempted  to  show  that  very   much    the    reverse    of  Vischer's, 

it  was  originally  a  Jewish  Aramaic  work  holding  that  the  book  was  originally  a 

composed  about   A.U.   69,  and  that   it  Christian    document    composed    about 

received  its  present  form — by  the  addition  A.u.  66,  and  that  it  was  enlarged  by  a 

of  an    introduction,  a   conclusion,  and  later  redactor  with  the  help  of  two  Jewish 

occasional  interpolations — from  a  Chris-  Apocalypses,  dating  about  65  B.C.  and 

tian  writer  about  A.D.   95.      The  same  40  A.  D. 

view  has  been  taken,  with  some  moditi-  -  Ur  Milligan  on  the  Book  of  Revela- 

cations,    by   Sabatier  ;    but,    still   more  tion. 
i^ecently,  Spitta  has  propounded  a  theory 


APPENDIX. 

Note  on  Patristic  Literature. 

The  first  six  of  the  following  are  usually  called  the  "Apostolic 
Fathers  "  : — 

Clement  of  Rome,  according  to  an  ancient  and  unanimous  tradi- 
tion, was  one  of  the  earliest  bishops  of  the  Roman  Church — the  third 
according  to  Irenaius,  his  predecessors  being  Linus  and  Anencletus. 
Among  the  numerous  writings  that  have  been  ascribed  to  him,  only 
one  is  now  regarded  as  genuine,  which  is  known  as  his  ist  Epistle  to 
the  Corinthians.  It  is  only  recently  that  the  complete  text  has  been 
obtained  by  the  discovery  of  a  MS.  at  Constantinople,  and  the  colla- 
tion of  a  Syriac  translation.  The  letter  is  written  in  the  name  of  the 
Roman  Church,  not  without  a  tone  of  authority  (although  there  is 
scarcely  anymore  trace  in  it  than  in  the  New  Testament  of  episcopal 
jurisdiction  in  a  monarchical  sense,  the  terms  "bishop"  and  "pres- 
byter" being  still  used  as  convertible).  The  object  of  the  epistle  was 
to  cure  the  dissension  and  insubordination  that  had  broken  out  in  the 
Corinthian  Church,  and  which  had  led  to  the  deposition  of  some 
blameless  presbyters.  While  the  writer  speaks  of  Peter  and  Paul  to 
his  readers  as  men  of  their  own  generation,  this  must  not  be  taken  too 
strictly  ;  and  the  date  now  generally  assigned  to  the  letter,  on  what 
appear  to  be  adequate  grounds,  is  95-96  a.d.  The  2nd  Epistle  of 
Clement,  so  called,  is  a  homily  by  an  unknown  author,  probably 
written  at  Rome  in  the  first  half  of  the  second  century. 

Ignatius,  converted  to  Christianity  comparatively  late  in  life,  suc- 
ceeded Euodius  as  bishop  of  Antioch,  and  was  martyred  in  the  arena 
of  the  Coliseum  at  Rome,  under  Trajan,  110-115  A.D.  His  genuine 
writings  are  now  generally  held  to  consist  of  seven  epistles,  written  in 
the  course  of  his  last  journey,  as  a  prisoner,  from  Antioch  to  Rome, 
viz.  : — (from  Smyrna)  to  the  Ephesians,  the  Magnesians,  the  Trallians, 
the  Romans,  and  (from  Troas)  to  the  Philadelphians,  the  Smyr- 
naeans,  and  Polycarp,  Bishop  of  Smyrna.  With  the  exception  of  the 
epistle  to  the  Romans,  which  relates  almost  entirely  to  the  author's 
expected  and  eagerly-desired  martyrdom,  these  epistles  deal  with 
questions  of  doctrine  and  discipline.  They  emphasize  the  reality  of 
Christ's  humanity  in  opposition  to  Docetic  error  {cf.  p.  261),  denounce 
Judaizing  tendencies,  and  enforce  the  three-fold  ecclesiastical  order 
(bishop,  presbyter,  and  deacon)  in  the  interests  of  Church  unity. 


2  8o  New  Testament  and  Its  Writers. 

POLYCARP,  for  many  years  bishop  of  Smyrna,  was  born  about  69-70 
A.D.,  and  suffered  martyrdom  in  that  city  about  155-6  A.D.,  when  (to 
judge  from  words  uttered  by  himself  on  the  day  of  his  death,  "  Four- 
score and  six  years  have  I  served  Him,  and  He  hath  done  me  no 
wrong,")  he  was  at  least  in  his  eighty-sixth  year.  From  his  disciple, 
Irenaeus,  we  learn  that  he  had  been  a  hearer  of  the  Apostle  John  (see 
p.  62),  and  that  he  had  *'  not  only  been  taught  by  apostles,  and  hved 
in  familiar  intercourse  with  many  that  had  seen  Christ,"  but  had  also 
"  received  his  appointment  in  Asia  from  Apostles  as  bishop  in  the 
Church  of  Smyrna."  The  same  author  tells  us  that  Polycarp  wrote  a 
number  of  letters,  of  a  hortatory  nature,  both  to  individuals  and  to 
Churches  ;  but  the  only  extant  writing  bearing  his  name  that  is  gener- 
ally admitted  to  be  genuine  is  his  epistle  to  the  Philippians,  (specially 
mentioned  by  Irenaeus),  which  was  written  nearly  forty-five  years  before 
his  death,  about  the  time  of  Ignatius'  martyrdom.  It  is  of  consider- 
able length,  but  does  not  display  much  originality,  borrowing  largely 
from  the  teaching  of  "  the  Lord  "  and  His  apostles,  as  well  as  from 
the  letters  of  Ignatius  and  Clement  ;  and  the  chief  value  of  his  writing, 
as  of  his  life,  consisted  in  his  unswerving  attachment,  in  an  age  of 
transition  and  conflict,  to  the  genuine  apostolic  tradition.  Full  par- 
ticulars of  his  martyrdom  are  contained  in  a  letter  (still  extant)  from 
the  Church  of  Smyrna  to  the  Philomelians,  which  has  been  much 
admired  for  its  simplicity  and  pathos. 

Barnabas. — To  this  well-known  associate  of  St.  Paul  there  was 
ascribed  by  the  early  Church  Fathers  an  epistle  containing  twenty 
chapters,  which  is  preserved  in  full  in  the  Sinaitic  MS.,  and  in  one  of 
the  MSS.  recently  discovered  by  Bryennius  at  Constantinople.  It  is 
very  anti-Judaistic  in  spirit,  maintaining  that  Judaism,  in  its  outward 
and  visible  form,  had  not  received  the  divine  sanction,  and  that  God's 
covenant  had  never  belonged  to  the  Jews.  It  betrays  an  imperfect 
acquaintance  with  Jewish  rites  and  ceremonies,  and  a  tendency  to  in- 
dulge in  trifling  allegories,  for  which  reasons,  as  well  as  because  of  its 
Gnostic  magnifying  of  the  inner  meaning  of  Scripture  at  the  expense 
of  its  historical  frame-work,  most  critics  assign  it  to  an  unknown 
Gentile  author  of  Alexandria,  writing  in  the  beginning  of  the  second 
century.  But  it  contains  allusions  and  arguments  which  seem  to  imply 
that  the  destruction  of  the  Temple  had  been  a  recent  occurrence  ;  and, 
for  this  and  other  reasons,  some  would  assign  it  to  about  80  A.D.,  and 
accept  the  tradition  that  it  was  the  work  of  Barnabas. 

The  Shepherd  of  Hermas. — This  is  the  name  of  a  work  which 
was  held  in  high  esteem  both  by  the  Eastern  and  Western  Church  for 
hundreds  of  years,  from  about  the  middle  of  the  second  century.  It 
bears  to  be  written  by  one  Hermas,  whom  Origen,  without  any 
definite  or  sufficient  reason,  identifies  with  the  Hermas  of  Rom. 
xvi.  14..     It  consists  of  three  parts  :  (i)  Visions  seen  by  Hermas  (in 


Appendix.  281 

Rome  and  the  neighbourhood) ;  (2)  Commandments,  and  (3)  Similitudes 
which  were  dehvered  to  Hennas  by  one  who  appeared  to  him  in  the 
guise  of  a  shepherd,  "  the  angel  of  repentance," — the  whole  book  being 
a  call  to  repentance.  Some  regard  the  story  as  an  allegory  without 
any  historical  basis  ;  others,  with  apparently  better  reason,  conceive 
it  to  be  of  the  nature  of  a  prophecy,  in  the  New  Testament  sense  of 
the  word,  delivered  by  the  author  to  the  Church,  as  the  result  of  his 
dreams  and  visions.  The  date  of  the  book  is  very  uncertain.  The 
mention  of  Clement,  to  whom  Hernias  was  charged  to  send  the  writ- 
ing for  communication  to  foreign  Churches,  and  whom  it  is  natural  to 
identify  with  Clement  of  Rome,  has  led  some  to  assign  it  to  the  latter 
part  of  the  first  century.  But  it  is  impossible  to  reconcile  with  this 
the  statement  in  the  Muratorian  Canon  that  "  Hermas  composed  the 
Shepherd  very  lately  in  our  times  in  the  city  of  Rome,  while  the  Bishop 
Pius,  his  brother,  occupied  the  chair  of  the  Rxjman  Church"  (140-155 
A.D.).  Like  the  Epistle  of  Barnabas,  this  book  is  found  in  the  Codex 
Sinaiticus,  following  the  New  Testament. 

Papias,  Bishop  of  Hierapolis,  was  born  60-70  A.D.,  and  published  an 
Expositioji  of  Oracles  of  the  Lord  (Xoyiuv  KvpLaKoop  i^-nyqaLs)  about  1 35  A.D. 
Only  a  few  brief  passages  of  the  work  have  been  preserved  for  us  (by 
IrenEeus  and  Eusebius),  but  Papias  is  frequently  referred  to  by  other 
writers.  Eusebius  characterises  him  as  "  a  man  of  very  mean  capa- 
city," though  very  learned  ;  and  both  he  and  Irena^us  refer  to  his 
peculiar  views,  of  a  materialistic  nature,  on  the  subject  of  the  Mil- 
,lennium.  The  chief  object  of  his  work  above-mentioned  seems  to  have 
been  to  interpret  the  Gospels  in  the  light  of  all  the  traditions  he  could 
collect  from  the  Lord's  disciples  or  those  acquainted  with  them.  Ac- 
cording to  Irenjeus,  Papias  was  a  hearer  of  the  Apostle  John,  a 
companion  of  Polycarp,  and  a  man  of  the  olden  time  ;  but  Eusebius 
inferred  (rightly  or  wrongly)  from  his  language  (which  he  quotes)  that 
there  were  two  persons  of  the  name  of  John,  and  that  it  was  not  John 
the  Apostle,  but  John  the  Elder,  that  Papias  was  acquainted  with. 
The  words  of  Papias  are  as  follows  : — "  If  I  met  anywhere  with  any 
one  who  had  been  a  follower  of  the  Elders,  I  used  to  enquire  as  to  the 
discourses  of  the  Elders — what  was  said  by  Andrew,  or  by  Peter,  or  by 
Philip,  or  by  Thomas  or  James,  or  by  John  or  Matthew,  or  any  other  of 
the  Lord's  disciples,  and  what  Aristion  and  the  Elder  John,  the  disciples 
of  the  Lord,  say.  For  I  did  not  think  that  I  would  get  so  much  profit 
from  the  contents  of  books  as  from  the  utterances  of  a  living  and 
abiding  voice."  ^  There  is  room  for  difference  of  opinion  as  to  the 
correctness  of  this  inference  by  Eusebius. 

^  Et  5e  TTov  /cat  wapTjKoXovdrjKws  tis  fiaOriTwv'  &  re  'Apiarlwv  Kal  6  irpecr^v- 

Tois  wpta^vTepoLS  iXdoL  Tovs  Twv  TTpea-  repos  'ludvfris  ol  tov  KvpLov  /xadr]Ta't. 

^VT€pwva.veKpivov\6-yovs'Ti'\vdpiai,it  Xeyovffiv'     Ov  ycip  to.  €K  twv  (iijiXI-wv 

tL  IleVpos   elrrev,  1)  tI  4>i\t7r7ros,    i)  tI  toctovtoi'  fie  wpeXelv  vireXap-^avov,  dcrov 

•Ooiyuas,    7)   'IctKOj/Sos"   7}   ri  'Icudcj/?;?,  rj  to.  irapa  ^uiarjs  (piov^i  Kal  fi€VOV(Tr]t. 
Mardaios,   ij  tis  ^repos  twv  tov  \s.vpiov 


252 


New  Testament  and  Its  Writers. 


The  Didacheox  "Teaching  of  the  (Twelve)  Apostles"  is  the 
name  of  a  work  referred  to  by  Eusebius  and  others  —  Clement  of 
Alexandria  even  quoting  it  as  "Scripture";  but  no  MS.  of  it  was 
known  till  1873,  when  Bryennius  discovered  at  Constantinople  a 
document  containing  both  it  and  the  epistles  of  Clement  and  Barnabas, 
and  several  other  ancient  writings.  The  first  part  of  it  is  founded  upon 
a  still  earlier  work  called  "  The  Two  Ways  "  (probably  of  Jewish  origin, 
and  perhaps  also  used  in  the  epistle  of  Barnabas),  which  sets  forth  the 
way  of  righteousness  and  life,  and  the  way  of  unrighteousness  and 
death,  somewhat  after  the  manner  of  the  Epistle  of  James.  The  second 
part  is  of  a  more  ecclesiastical  nature,  and  relates  to  prayer  and  fast- 
ing, the  two  sacraments,  and  various  classes  of  teachers  and  office- 
bearers in  the  Church,  concluding  with  an  exhortation  to  watch  and  be 
ready  for  the  second  coming  of  the  Lord.  It  was  probably  composed 
in  the  end  of  the  first  or  the  beginning  of  the  second  century,  as  we 
may  infer  from  its  identification  of  bishop  and  presbyter  (§  15),  its 
allusion  to  the  prophetic  order  as  still  surviving  in  the  Church,  and  to 
the  Agape  or  love-feast  as  still  forming  part  of  the  Lord's  Supper.  It 
consists  of  sixteen  short  chapters. 

Aristides,  an  Athenian  philosopher  who  lived  in  the  first  half  of 
the  second  century,  is  mentioned  by  Eusebius  and  other  writers  as  the 
author  of  a  famous  Apology  ;  but  it  is  only  within  the  last  few  years 
that  the  work  has  been  discovered,  in  a  Syriac  translation,  in  St. 
Catherine's,  Mount  Sinai.  It  was  addressed  to  the  Emperor  Hadrian 
(i  17-138  A.D.),  or  to  his  successor,  Antoninus  Pius  (who  was  also 
called  Hadrian),  or  possibly  to  both.  It  may  safely  be  assigned  to 
125-140  A.D.  Much  of  it  is  occupied  with  an  examination  of  heathen 
mythologies,  but  it  contains  allusions  to  the  Lord's  Incarnation, 
Resurrection,  and  Ascension  ;  and  its  representation  of  the  lives  of 
Christians  shows  that  the  precepts  of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  were 
in  many  cases  carried  out  far  more  fully  than  in  modern  times.  It  is 
the  oldest  extant  Christian  Apology.  That  of  Quadratus,  which  was 
written  about  the  same  time,  is  still  undiscovered  ;  but  a  quotation 
from  it  is  given  by  Eusebius,  who  speaks  highly  of  the  work. 

Basilides,  a  famous  Gnostic  speculator,  taught  at  Alexandria  in  the 
reign  of  Hadrian  (i  17-138  A.D.).  We  learn  from  Eusebius  that  he  wrote 
twenty-four  books  on  the  Gospel,  and  that  a  satisfactory  refutation  of 
his  heresy  was  produced  by  Agrippa  Castor.  A  considerable  portion  of 
his  writings  has  been  found  in  Hippolytus'  Refutation  of  all  Heresies^ 
recovered  in  1842  and  published  in  1851  ;  and  various  accounts  of  his 
teaching  are  found  in  the  writings  of  Clement  of  Alexandria,  Irenasus, 
and  Epiphanius.  Although  his  name  is  often  mentioned  by  subse- 
quent writers,  he  founded  no  school  of  importance,  his  only  eminent 
disciple  being  his  son  Isidore. 

Marcion,  the  son  of  a  bishop  of  Sinope  in  Pontus,  but  excommuni- 


Appendix.  28 


a 


cated  on  account  of  his  heresy,  became  a  Gnostic  leader  of  great  influence 
at  Rome  and  elsewhere  (about  140  A.D.),  with  followers  in  many  lands 
not  only  in  his  own  day  but  for  generations  afterwards.  He  set  the 
New  Testament  in  opposition  to  the  Old,  and  represented  the  God  of 
Redemption  as  essentially  different  from  and  superior  to  the  God  of 
Creation.  To  suit  his  purposes  he  framed  a  Gospel  for  himself,  being 
a  mutilated  Gospel  of  Luke  ;  and  of  the  rest  of  the  canonical  books  he 
only  acknowledged  ten  epistles  of  Paul  (e.xcluding  Hebrews  and  the 
Pastoral  Epistles),  to  which  he  gave  the  name  of  Apostolicon.  His 
opinions  are  to  be  learned  mainly  from  Tertullian  and  Epiphanius,  who 
undertook  to  refute  them. 

The  Epistle  TO  Diognetus  is  "one  of  the  noblest  and  most  impres- 
sive of  early  Christian  apologies  in  style  and  treatment."  It  is  addressed 
by  an  anonymous  author  to  an  educated  Pagan  (whom  Lightfoot  is 
disposed  to  identify  with  the  tutor  of  Marcus  'Aurelius)  in  answer  to 
his  enquiries  about  Christianity.  While  certainly  not  the  work  of  Justin 
Martyr  (to  whom  it  has  sometimes  been  attributed),  it  probably  dates 
from  the  second  century.  The  only  MS.  containing  it  (of  the  thirteenth 
century)  was  destroyed  in  Strassburg  in  1870  during  the  Franco- 
German  War.  It  consists  of  twelve  short  chapters,  but  the  last  two  are 
probably  of  a  much  later  date,  and  bear  traces  of  an  Alexandrian  origin. 

Justin  Martyr,  a  native  of  Samaria,  of  Greek  descent,  after  having 
tried  various  forms  of  Greek  philosophy,  especially  Platonism,  was 
converted  to  Christianity  and  became  its  zealous  advocate  at  Rome, 
Ephesus,  and  elsewhere.  Of  his  numerous  writings  there  have 
been  preserved  to  us  (besides  a  few  fragments)  two  Apologies  addressed 
to  Roman  Emperors  in  vindication  of  the  Christian  life,  and  a  Dialogue 
with  Tryp/io,  a  Jew,  being  the  account  of  a  discussion  at  Ephesus,  in 
which  J  ustin  sought  to  prove  that  Jesus  was  the  Christ.  He  wrote  before 
the  middle  of  the  second  century,  and  was  martyred  about  165  a.d. 

Tatian,  a  native  of  Mesopotamia,  was  a  teacher  of  rhetoric,  well 
versed  in  Greek  literature  and  philosophy.  He  came  under  the 
influence  of  Justin  Martyr  in  Rome  about  162  A.D.,  and  became  a 
zealous  member  of  the  Church  ;  but  on  his  return  to  the  East,  after  the 
death  of  Justin,  he  fell  into  Gnosticism  of  a  peculiar  type,  and  was 
regarded  as  the  father  of  the  Encratites.  Among  numerous  other 
works  he  wrote  an  Apology  under  the  name  of  an  Address  to  the 
Greeks,  which  is  still  extant,  and  a  kind  of  Harmony  of  the  Four 
Gospels  which  he  called  Diatessaron. 

Athenagoras,  an  Athenian  philosopher  of  the  school  of  Platonists, 
wrote  an  Apology  (176  a.d.)  strongly  resembling  that  of  Justin,  and  a 
treatise  on  the  Resurrection,  both  of  which  are  extant  and  exhibit 
considerable  intellectual  power. 

Melito,  Bishop  of  Sardis,  a  man  of  wide  influence  in  Asia  Minor, 
wrote  on  a  great  variety  of  subjects.     Among  his  works  (only  frag- 


284  New  Testament  and  Its  Writer's. 

ments  of  which  have  come  down  to  us)  was  an  Apology  addressed  to 
Marcus  Aurelius  (177  a.d.),  designed  to  avert  the  rising  persecution 
by  vindicating  the  character  of  the  Christians. 

Theophilus,  Bishop  of  Antioch  (171-184  A.D.),  was  aproUfic  writer; 
but  the  only  undoubted  work  of  his  that  has  come  down  to  us  is  his 
Apologia  adAiitoIyaim^  in  three  books,  in  which  he  bases  his  argument 
for  Christianity  largely  on  the  Old  Testament. 

The  MuRATORiAN  FRAGMENT,  discovered  by  Muratori  in  a  MS.  of 
the  eighth  century,  in  the  Ambrosian  Library  at  Milan  (1730-40  A.D.), 
contains  a  list  of  the  canonical  books,  which  has  been  already  referred 
to  in  Chap.  I.  Note  A.  It  is  in  very  bad  Latin,  apparently  a  transla- 
tion from  the  Greek,  but  copied  from  an  older  MS.  that  had  been 
previously  mutilated.     It  is  usually  assigned  to  about  170  A.D. 

Lyons  and  Vienne,  Letter  from  the  Churches  of,  to  the  Christians 
of  Asia  and  Phrygia  (177  A.D.),  which  has  been  preserved  by  Eusebius, 
tells  the  story  of  a  dreadful  local  persecution,  in  which  forty-eight 
Christians  suffered  martyrdom. 

IrentEUS,  a  native  of  Asia  Minor,  and  a  disciple  of  Polycarp,  was 
appointed  Bishop  of  Lyons  178  A.D.  He  had  previously  visited  Rome 
as  a  delegate  from  the  persecuted  Church  in  Gaul,  and  had  come  into 
contact  with  many  of  the  leading  heretics.  In  order  to  counteract 
their  teaching  (especially  that  of  Valentinus  the  Gnostic)  he  composed 
a  Rcftitatioji,  in  five  books,  which  has  been  preserved  to  us  in  a  Latin 
translation,  with  fragments  of  the  Greek  and  of  a  Syriac  translation. 
It  abounds  in  quotations  from  nearly  all  the  bocks  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment, and  also  embodies  a  number  of  traditions  of  '"  Elders  " — men  of 
a  former  generation,  some  of  whom  had  been  disciples  of  Apostles. 
Most  of  his  other  writings  have  perished. 

Clement  of  Alexandria  was  head  of  the  Catechetical  School  of 
Alexandria  from  190  to  203  A.D.,  during  which  time  he  accomplished 
much  hterary  work.  His  three  chief  writings  that  have  come  down  to 
us  are  (i)  his  Address  to  the  Greeks^  designed  to  show  the  superiority 
of  Christianity  to  all  the  religion  and  culture  of  heathenism  ;  (2)  The 
Tutor,  a  text-book  of  Christian  discipline  ;  (3)  the  Miscellanies,  a  kind 
of  harmony  of  the  truths  of  philosophy  from  a  Christian  point  of  view. 

Tertullian  {circa  160-230  a.d.),  a  native  of  Carthage,  was  a  mar- 
ried presbyter  of  the  Church,  but  in  his  later  years  a  votary  of  Mon- 
tanism  ("the  Irvingism  of  the  second  century ").-  He  wrote  both  in 
Greek  and  Latin,  but  only  his  Latin  works  have  been  preserved  to  us, 
which  are  very  numerous  and  varied.  He  was  a  keen  and  able  con- 
troversialist (with  a  strong  anti-gnostic  bent),  and  defended  Christianity 
against  heathens,  Jews,  and  heretics. 

Hegesippus,  an  ecclesiastical  writer  of  the  second  century,  of  Jewish 
descent  and  a  member  of  the  Church  at  Jerusalem,  published  (about 
180  a.d.)  five  books  of  Memorials,  fragments  of  which  have  been  pre- 


Appendix.  285 

served  by  Eusebius.  Hegesippus  had  previously  visited  Rome  (where 
he  appears  to  have  spent  many  years),  taking  Corinth  on  the  way,  and 
making  enquiry  as  to  the  ApostoHc  tradition.  According  to  Eusebius, 
he  found  "  everywhere  the  same  doctrine." 

Clementine  Homilies  (in  Greek)  and  Recognitions  (in  a  Latin 
translation  by  Rufinus)  are  based  on  the  same  original  (an  account  of 
Peter's  discourses  to  the  heathen),  but  are  in  some  respects  widely 
different,  the  Homilies  being  strongly  Ebionite  in  doctrine,  the  Recog- 
nitiojts  more  adapted  for  the  use  of  the  orthodox.  They  consist  largely 
of  a  romantic  story  of  the  travels  of  Clement  (the  future  bishop  of 
Rome)  in  attendance  on  Peter,  whose  discourses  he  records  ;  and  they 
were  evidently  designed  to  exalt  Peter  as  the  apostle  of  the  (Gentiles 
at  the  expense  of  Paul,  who  is  covertly  referred  to  under  the  name  of 
Simon  Magus.  The  Homilies  are  twenty  in  number,  and  are  addressed 
to  James,  the  head  of  Jewish  Christianity  ;  •  the  Recognitions  derive 
their  name  from  the  hero's  finding  in  succession  his  lost  mother, 
brothers,  and  father.  In  their  present  form,  the  compositions  may  be 
assigned  to  the  end  of  the  second  or  beginning  of  the  third  century. 

Hippo LYTUS  (170-235  a.d.),  a  hearer  of  Irenasus,  and  a  Roman 
ecclesiastic  of  great  importance  in  his  day,  whether  as  presbyter  or 
bishop,  wrote  many  books,  of  which  the  principal  extant  is  his  Reficta- 
tion  of  all  Heresies.  Part  of  this  work,  under  the  name  of  Philoso- 
phoumcna,  used  to  be  attributed  to  Origen,  but  in  1842  a  MS.  con- 
taining seven  of  the  ten  books  of  which  the  work  is  composed  was 
discovered  on  Mount  Athos,  and  it  is  now  generally  acknowledged  to 
have  been  written  by  Hippolytus.  Its  chief  value  for  us  lies  in  the 
account  which  it  gives  of  the  Gnostic  heresies  of  the  second  century. 
Hippolytus  was  ultimately  banished  to  the  mines  of  Sardinia,  where 
he  is  believed  to  have  perished. 

Origen  (186-254  a.d.),  a  pupil  of  Clement  Alex,  and  a  man  of  im- 
mense industry  and  learning,  exerted  a  wide  influence  by  his  lectures  in 
Alexandria,  Jerusalem,  Cresarea,  Athens,  and  elsewhere.  He  was  a 
most  voluminous  writer  on  biblical,  theological,  and  philosophical 
subjects.  Eusebius  tells  us  that  he  kept  more  than  seven  shorthand 
writers  employed,  besides  as  many  copyists,  and  several  female  cali- 
graphists.  His  chief  work  extant  (besides  Commentaries  and  Homilies 
in  Latin  translations)  is  his  Eight  BooJcs  against  Celstts,  in  defence  of 
Christianity.  His  life  was  one  of  struggle  and  hardship.  In  the 
Decian  persecution  he  underwent  torture,  and  died  soon  afterwards 
at  Tyre. 

FlRMiLiAN,  bishop  of  Cffisarea  in  Cappadocia  (about  230-270  a.d.), 
was  an  intimate  friend  of  Origen.  His  only  writing  extant  is  a 
letter  to  Cyprian,  which  has  been  preserved  in  the  form  of  a  Latin 
translation. 

Cyprian,  a  wealthy  teacher  of  rhetoric  in  Carthage,  was  converted 


286  New  Testament  and  its  Writers. 

246  A.D.,  became  bishop  of  his  native  city  in  248  or  249,  and  suffered 
martyrdom  258  a.d.  His  extant  works  consist  of  controversial  treatises 
and  official  letters. 

EUSEBIUS  (260-339  A.D.),  bishop  of  Cassarea,  and  friend  of  Constantine 
the  Great,  has  been  called  the  "  Father  of  Church  History,"  as  Origen 
the  "  Father  of  Biblical  Criticism."  His  Ecclesiastical  History,  in  ten 
books,  gives  an  account  of  the  Christian  Church  down  to  324  a.d. 
Although  Eusebius  himself  seems  to  have  been  of  a  rather  weak  judg- 
ment, the  facts  and  quotations  with  which  his  History  teems  make  it  a 
mine  of  wealth  for  the  historian  and  the  critic.  Of  his  other  works,  the 
most  valuable  are  his  Gospel  Preparation  and  Gospel  Deinofistratioft, 
both  of  an  apologetic  nature. 

Athanasius  (299-373  A.D.),  bishop  of  Alexandria,  and  the  champion 
of  orthodoxy  in  the  great  Arian  Controversy,  wrote  numerous  letters 
and  treatises,  chiefly  of  a  doctrinal  nature. 

Cyril  of  Jerusalem  (315-386  a.d.),  appointed  bishop  of  his  native 
city  in  351,  left  a  large  number  of  catechetical  addresses,  which  are 
valuable  for  the  information  they  yield  regarding  the  doctrine  and 
the  ritual  of  the  early  Church. 

Apostolic  Constitutions,  an  ecclesiastical  miscellany  in  eight 
books,  not  earlier  (in  its  present  form)  than  the  middle  of  the  fourth 
century. 

Gregory  Nazianzen  (329-389  a.d.),  son  of  a  bishop  of  Nazianzus, 
was  in  his  youth  a  fellow-student  at  Athens  with  Basil  the  Great  and 
the  Emperor  Julian.  He  held  various  positions  in  the  Church,  being 
at  one  time  archbishop  of  Constantinople,  but  ended  his  days  in  re- 
tirement at  Nazianzus.  Famous  for  learning  and  eloquence,  he  left  an 
immense  number  of  orations,  epistles,  and  poems. 

Basil  the  Great,  born  in  Csesarea  (Cappadocia)  in  330  A.D.,  suc- 
ceeded Eusebius  in  the  bishopric  in  370,  and  died  379.  He  was  a  man 
of  great  elevation  of  character,  and  did  much  to  promote  monasticism, 
both  in  the  East  and  the  West.  He  was  the  author  of  many  works  of 
a  theological  nature,  still  extant. 

Gregory  of  Nyssa  (332-395  a.d.),  younger  brother  of  Basil,  held 
various  positions  in  the  Eastern  Church,  but  was  chiefly  celebrated  as 
a  theologian,  being  one  of  the  most  powerful  defenders  of  the  orthodox 
faith,  in  opposition  to  Arius  and  Apollinaris.  His  writings  are 
numerous,  and  include  both  controversial  and  exegetical  works. 

Epiphanius,  bishop  of  Constantia  (Salamis)  in  Cyprus  (367-403 
A.D.),  published  in  2)77  A.D.  his  chief  work  {llavdpiov),  dealing  with 
eighty  different  heresies.  He  was  famous  for  his  learning  and  piety, 
but  was  deficient  in  breadth  of  view,  and  his  statements  are  often  very 
inaccurate.  He  was  one  of  those  who  were  strongly  opposed  to  the 
teaching  of  Origen  and  his  followers. 

Chrysostom  {goldcH-mouthcd)  was  born  at  Antioch  in  347  A.D., 


Appendix.  287 

appointed  patriarch  of  Constantinople  in  397,  and  martyred  407  a.d. 
He  was  the  greatest  preacher  of  the  Greek  Church,  and  left  many 
valuable  writings,  the  most  important  of  which  are  his  Homilies. 

Jerome  or  Hieronymus  (341-420  a.d.),  the  greatest  scholar  of  the 
Latin  Church,  and  the  translator  of  the  Vulgate,  left  a  variety  of 
bibhcal  and  ecclesiastical  works.  For  many  years,  in  his  later  life,  he 
dwelt  in  a  hermit's  cell,  near  Bethlehem. 

Augustine,  born  in  Numidia  in  354  a.d.,  was  converted,  after  a 
stormy  youth,  by  Ambrose  of  Milan  in  386,  and  became  bishop  of 
Hippo,  in  North  Africa,  about  396.  He  moulded  the  theology  of  his  own 
and  later  times,  and  left  numerous  writings,  the  most  famous  of  which 
are  his  Confessions  and  Dc  Civitate  Dei.  He  died  in  430,  during  the 
siege  of  Hippo  by  the  Vandals. 


The  Gospels. 
Note  on  Undesigned  Coincidences  (p.  32). 

(For  a  fuller  statement  see  Blunt's  Scriptural  Coincidences^ 

(i)  Cf.  Matt.  xiv.  I,  and  Luke  ix.  7,  with  Luke  viii.  3  (and  Acts  xiii. 
l)  for  an  explanation  of  Herod's  having  '■'•  heard  of  all  that  was  done'''' 
and  speaking  "unto  his  servants''''  about  Jesus — viz.,  that  there  were 
believers  at  Herod's  court  ("Joanna  the  wife  of  Chuza  Herod's 
steward,"  and  "  Manaen,  the  foster-brother  of  Herod  the  tetrarch"). 

(2)  Cf.  Matt.  xiv.  19,  20  ;  Mark  vi.  39,  43  ;  Luke  ix.  17  ;  John  vi. 
10,  13  ;  with  Matt.  xv.  35,  37  ;  Mark  viii.  6,  8  (in  the  light  of  Matt. 
xvi.  9,  10)  for  a  remarkable  distinction  carefully  observed  (i)  between 
the  two  kinds  of  baskets  (only  discernible  in  the  original,  (SciSeKa)  Ko<pivovs 
in  the  one  case,  (errra)  cnrvplSas  in  the  other)  ;  (2)  between  "  the  grass  " 
and  "  the  ground"  ;  and  (3)  between  "  the  men  "  and  "  the  people." 

(3)  Cf.  Matt.  viii.  16  with  Mark  i.  21  and  Luke  iv.  31  (in  the 
light  of  Matt.  xii.  10)  for  an  explanation  of  the  fact  that  the  sick  were 
only  brought  to  Jesus  for  healing  "  when  the  even  was  conic  " — viz., 
that  it  was  the  Sabbath  day,  during  which  it  was  considered  by  the 
Jews  to  be  unlawful  to  heal. 

(4)  Cf.  Matt.  xii.  46  ;  Mark  vi.  3  ;  Luke  viii.  19  ;  John  ii.  12  ;  xix. 
25-27  (and  Acts  i.  13,  14)— all  these  passages  concurring  in  giving  the 
impression,  although  in  an  indirect  manner,  that  Joseph  was  already 
dead. 

(5)  C/C  John  xxi.  15  with  Matt.  xxvi.  31-33  and  Mark  xiv.  27-29— 
the  two  latter  (which  record  Peter's  boasts)  supplying  an  explanation 


New  Testament  and  its  Writers, 


of  the  former  passage,  where  "Jesus  saith  to  Simon  Peter,  Simon,  son 
of  John,  lovest  thou  me  more  than  these  ?  " 

(6)  Cf.  Matt.  iv.  13  ("he  came  and  dwelt  in  Capernaum,")  with 
Luke  iv.  23  and  x.  15 — with  reference  to  Capernaum  as  a  favoured 
scene  of  Christ's  ministry. 

(7)  Cf.  Matt.  xxvi.  67,  68  ("  Prophesy  unto  us,  thou  Christ :  who  is  he 
that  struck  thee  ?")  with  Luke  xxii.  64 — the  latter  explaining  the  former 
by  the  addition  "  they  blindfolded  him  " — although  evidently  an  inde- 
pendent narrative. 

(8)  Cf  Matt.  xxvi.  65  (in  the  hght  of  John  v.  18,  x.  33)  with 
Luke  xxiii.  2 — the  former  referring  to  Christ's  trial  before  the  Jewish 
Coiittcil  on  a  charge  oi  blasphemy,  the  latter  to  His  trial  before  Pilate 
on  a  charge  of  sedition,  the  accusation  in  each  case  corresponding  to 
the  tribunal. 

(9)  Cf  Matt,  xxvi,  71  with  John  xviii.  16 — the  latter  explaining  in- 
directly how  Peter  should  have  been  recognised  in  '''■  the  porch" — viz., 
because  he  "  was  standing  at  the  door  without "  until  "  the  other  dis- 
ciple, which  was  known  unto  the  high-priest,  went  out  and  spake  unto 
her  that  kept  the  door,  and  brought  in  Peter." 

(10)  Cf  Mark  vi.  31  with  John  vi.  4  ("Now  the  passover  .  .  .  was 
at  hand") — the  latter  supplying  an  explanation  of  the  great  number  of 
people  in  the  neighbourhood  at  the  time. 

(11)  Cf  John  vi.  5,  8  with  Luke  ix.  10  and  John  i.  44,  with  refer- 
ence to  the  connection  of  Philip  and  Atidrew  with  Bcthsaida,  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  which  the  miracle  was  wrought. 

(12)  Cf  John  iii.  13,  vi.  62,  xx.  17  (where  our  Lord's  Ascension 
is  indirectly  referred  to)  with  the  actual  record  of  that  event  in  Luke 
xxiv.  50-53. 


TURNBl'LL   AND   SPEARS     PRINTERS,    EDINBURGH, 


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BS2361.M128 

The  New  Testament  and  its  writers 


Princeton  Theological  Seminary-Speer  Library 


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